If you’ve been refreshing your phone for the latest maryland terrapins football score, you already know the vibe in College Park has been, well, complicated. One minute we’re talking about a dominant 4-0 start that had everyone dreaming of a December bowl trip, and the next, we’re staring at an eight-game skid that felt like a slow-motion car crash.
It’s been a weird year. Honestly, watching this team is usually a rollercoaster, but the 2025 season took that to a literal extreme. The Terps finished with a 4-8 overall record and a brutal 1-8 mark in the Big Ten. If you just look at the final scores, it looks like a disaster. But if you actually watched the games, especially early on, there’s a much weirder story buried in the stats.
The Brutal Reality of the Maryland Terrapins Football Score
Let’s get the hard part out of the way first. The season ended with a 38-28 loss to Michigan State in Detroit on November 29. It wasn't just the loss; it was the fact that it capped off eight straight defeats. After beating Wisconsin 27-10 in late September—a game where the Terps looked like legitimate Big Ten contenders—the wheels didn't just come off. They disintegrated.
The scoreboard hasn't been kind lately. We saw a 55-10 blowout against Indiana at home, which was probably the lowest point of the Mike Locksley era. Then there was that 45-20 loss to Michigan where the talent gap just looked like a canyon.
But here is the thing: Maryland wasn’t always getting blown out. They lost a heartbreaker to Washington 24-20 and another 34-31 nail-biter to Nebraska. These are the games that keep fans up at night. A play here, a stop there, and suddenly the maryland terrapins football score is flipped, and they’re bowling. Instead, they’re sitting at home.
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Why the Offense Stalled Out
You’ve gotta talk about the quarterback. Malik Washington came in as a true freshman with a massive amount of hype. And look, the kid can play. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 17 touchdowns. He even put up 459 passing yards in that season finale against Michigan State.
The problem? He was basically running for his life half the time. Maryland’s rushing attack was... not great. They averaged just about 104 yards per game on the ground. DeJuan Williams did his best, leading the team with 501 rushing yards, but when you can’t run the ball in the Big Ten, you’re eventually going to get bullied.
By the time November rolled around, opposing defenses knew exactly what was coming. They just pinned their ears back and hunted Washington. The scorelines reflected that lack of balance. If Malik didn’t have a superhero game, the Terps didn't have a chance.
Breaking Down the 2025 Results
If you missed any of the action, here is the quick-and-dirty breakdown of how the scores shook out this year. It started with so much promise.
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- FAU: W, 39-7 (Dominant start)
- Northern Illinois: W, 20-9 (Ugly, but a win)
- Towson: W, 44-17 (Taking care of business)
- Wisconsin: W, 27-10 (The peak of the season)
- Washington: L, 20-24 (The beginning of the end)
- Nebraska: L, 31-34 (Close, but no cigar)
- UCLA: L, 17-20 (Another one-possession heartbreaker)
- Indiana: L, 10-55 (Complete collapse)
- Rutgers: L, 20-35 (Losing the "regional" rivalry)
- Illinois: L, 6-24 (Offensive no-show)
- Michigan: L, 20-45 (Tough day at SECU Stadium)
- Michigan State: L, 28-38 (Season ends on a low note)
It’s a tale of two seasons. Four wins in September. Zero in October. Zero in November. That is a tough pill to swallow for a fanbase that saw three straight winning seasons from 2021 to 2023.
The Mike Locksley Situation
Naturally, when the maryland terrapins football score keeps ending up in the wrong column, people start asking about the coach. Mike Locksley is 37-47 overall at Maryland now. That's not great on paper.
However, Athletic Director Jim Smith made it official in mid-November: Locksley is coming back for 2026. The logic? Roster stability and NIL. The school feels like they have the pieces, led by Malik Washington and some big-time recruits like five-star edge rusher Zion Elee, to turn it around quickly. They’d rather spend the money on players than a massive coaching buyout.
It’s a gamble. Some fans are furious; others think it’s the only way to survive in the modern era of the transfer portal. Basically, the administration is betting that the "DMV to UMD" pipeline will eventually outweigh the late-season collapses.
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What to Watch Moving Forward
If you're a Terps fan, you're probably looking for a reason to be optimistic. Honestly, it's Malik Washington. Even though the team struggled, he showed flashes of being a truly elite Power 4 quarterback. He's got wideouts like Shaleak Knotts (over 700 yards this year) and Jalil Farooq to throw to.
The defense is where things get shaky. They gave up over 26 points per game and struggled mightily to stop the run against the bigger Big Ten programs. If they don't get some serious help in the portal for the defensive line, 2026 might look a lot like 2025.
To really track the future of the maryland terrapins football score, keep an eye on these specific areas:
- Transfer Portal Targets: They need offensive linemen and interior defensive tackles. Period.
- Malik Washington's Growth: Can he cut down on the freshman mistakes (9 interceptions) and handle the pressure?
- NIL Support: The AD is promising a "boost." We'll see if that translates to keeping their best players from leaving for bigger schools.
The season is over, but the work for next year is already starting. Maryland has the talent to compete, but they've got to find a way to finish games. Losing four games by one possession is the difference between a bowl game and a 4-8 disappointment.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the official UMTerps website for the 2026 spring game schedule to get an early look at the updated roster.
- Monitor the 247Sports Transfer Portal tracker specifically for Maryland enrollees to see if they are addressing the line of scrimmage issues.
- Review the final Big Ten standings to see how the expanded conference landscape (with USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington) is impacting Maryland's path to a winning record.