Maryland Football 2026 Schedule: Key Games, Analysis

The Good

There's a trip to UConn, but that's not bad considering five of the other seven games are in College Park.

November might be tougher than it looks, but starting with a trip to Purdue and a home game against Wisconsin isn't bad, and the home date against Penn State might be interesting.

The Bad

Considering going to UConn might not be a breeze, and one of the Big Ten road games is at Purdue, there's no true layup after starting the season against Hampton.

Sure, playing five teams that didn't go to a bowl game in the first ten games might seem like a plus, but Wisconsin and UCLA should be far tougher this year.

What Big Ten Teams Maryland Will Miss

Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Oregon, Washington.

The Terps have to play Ohio State, Penn State, and USC, but there's no problem missing Indiana, Oregon, and Michigan.

Maryland’s Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026

Best Case: Maryland is bowl eligible by Halloween

The Terps will drop the date at Ohio State, and there will be a loss to either Illinois or at Nebraska, but they take care of September going 4-0, and beat Rutgers in mid-October.

November becomes more than gravy. They win at Purdue, setting up a huge game against Wisconsin to keep a fantastic, stunning season alive going into the final two dates against USC and Penn State.

Worst Case: The Terps can't handle UConn or Virginia

The trip to UConn might not be a two-foot putt - even with the Huskies totally rebuilding - and losing to Virginia would be devastating going into the Big Ten season.

After that, a loss to UCLA locks in the discussion of who the next Maryland head coach will be.

Maryland Football 2026 Schedule

Sept 5 Hampton
Sept 12 at UConn
Sept 19 Virginia
Sept 26 UCLA
Oct 3 at Nebraska
Oct 10 at Ohio State
Oct 17 Rutgers
Oct 24 OPEN DATE
Oct 31 Illinois
Nov 7 at Purdue
Nov 14 Wisconsin
Nov 21 at USC
Nov 28 Penn State

Games That Will Decide Maryland’s Season

1. Virginia, Sept. 19
The Week 2 game at UConn isn't going to be a breeze, but assuming the Terps get through that, the battle with the Cavaliers should be one of those key moments that show whether or not this year's team has it.

2. at Nebraska, Oct. 3
The loss to the Huskers last season was right before the pivot to blah hit. This year, there's a real chance to be 4-0 before going to Lincoln.

3. at Purdue, Nov. 7
Maryland has to steal road wins from somewhere. At this point in the season, the Boilermakers will need this win even more.