The 1953 national championship
Maryland's lone national title under Jim Tatum
Program outlook
Program outlook
Maryland has the most recognizable uniform in college football — the state flag stitched into every jersey, black and gold and red and white in the boldest quadrant pattern in the sport. The team underneath went 4-8 last year. Freshman quarterback Malik Washington threw for 2,963 yards, broke the program's freshman passing record, and decided to stay. That's the whole offseason.
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The DMV is one of the richest recruiting territories in the Big Ten footprint. Maryland sits in the middle of it — a land-grant flagship in College Park, forty minutes from Washington, drawing off the same Mid-Atlantic skill talent that Ohio State and Penn State and Michigan pull into their pipelines. The visual identity has been studied as a design landmark by people who don't follow the team. Fear the Turtle. The look is real. The program the look is attached to has spent most of the last decade near the bottom of the league it moved to in 2014.
Mike Locksley's seventh season ended at 4-8, 1-8 in the Big Ten — the kind of record that ends tenures at most programs. Locksley returns for year eight. The case for patience rests almost entirely on Washington: a true freshman who broke the program passing record, absorbed the offense, and announced he's coming back for 2026 rather than entering the portal. The case against is the same record it's always been — four mostly losing seasons in the Big Ten and a talent base that keeps producing better players for other schools than for Maryland.
The 2026 question in College Park is whether a young quarterback and a program identity that genuinely outruns its results can produce a winning Big Ten record for the first time since Locksley's first year. The schedule is not forgiving. Washington has to make a second-year leap in a league where second-year leaps are the difference between a bowl team and another winter at home. The DMV fanbase is watching; the recruits are watching. The look has never been the problem.
Update (Oct. 28, 2026): Maryland is 2-5. It lost 35-26 to Virginia Tech on Sept. 19, 54-3 to UCLA on Sept. 26, 48-23 at Nebraska on Oct. 3, 45-16 at Ohio State on Oct. 10, and 37-30 to Rutgers on Oct. 17. The Oct. 17 loss to Rutgers came as a 5.5-point favorite.
Update (Nov. 3, 2026): Mike Locksley is out as Maryland's head coach as of Oct. 21, after the Terrapins' fifth straight loss. Co-defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is the interim head coach.
On the field
Maryland's offense under Locksley is built on Mid-Atlantic speed — wide-receiver and running-back talent from the DMV pipeline run through a spread base with pro-style elements. Washington's arm talent and mobility give the offense a dual-threat dimension it hasn't had in years. The defense has been inconsistent; the 2026 line corps rebuild is the unit to watch. SECU Stadium in College Park has genuine atmosphere for marquee Big Ten visitors. The visual identity — the state flag uniforms — remains the program's most distinctive asset and its most loaded promise.
Maryland has won 1 national title since 1936
1953
How titles are counted
The final AP poll from 1936 and the Coaches poll from 1950 through 2005, then the winner of the BCS and College Football Playoff title games. A program may claim others, named by selectors we do not count.
- 1953: AP poll and Coaches poll
Maryland has won 50% of its games since 1902 — 60% at home, 39% on the road.
596-567-30 all-time · 120 seasons · 1902–2026
Home
359-225-12
Away
221-325-16
Neutral
16-17-2
9 g
1900s
54%
1910s
48%
1920s
53%
1930s
51%
1940s
66%
1950s
40%
1960s
59%
1970s
55%
1980s
34%
1990s
58%
2000s
40%
2010s
46%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Maryland’s 2014–2026 record is 63-87.
Mike Locksley
Mike Locksley is in year 8, longer than most head coaches stay at one school.
Era Mike Locksley · 2019–presentPrev: Matt Canada (2018)OC: Clint TrickettPrev OC: Pep Hamilton (2025)DC: Aazaar Abdul-Rahim (co) / Ted MonachinoPrev DC: Aazaar Abdul-Rahim (co) / Brian Williams (2024)
8
years · era
Maryland and Rutgers, meeting by meeting
Maryland leads the series 12-10-0 (since 1920); in the last 10 meetings, Maryland is 5-5
2026: Rutgers won 37-30. After this game, Maryland led 12-10-0.
Last 22 meetings: ▲ Maryland won, ▼ Rutgers won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when Maryland wins, down when Rutgers wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1920. Tap the line for any season.
Biggest stories
The stories fans talked about most for Maryland.
- Maryland names interim head coach Oct 21, 2026 · National argument
- Maryland fires head coach Locksley Oct 21, 2026 · Talked about
Moments in Maryland history
- Maryland 45, Minnesota 44Oct 30, 2020
- Northwestern 33, Maryland 27Oct 28, 2023
- Maryland 35, Penn State 19Nov 7, 2020
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
The 2002 Orange Bowl run
Friedgen's first year delivers an ACC title and a BCS bowl berth
2014
The Big Ten move
Maryland leaves the ACC for the Big Ten — financial security, but severed rivalries and a tougher ceiling
Heartbreak
Moment of the year · 2026
Lost 16-45 at Ohio State
Week 6 of 2026. A reckoning loss — the data point the next season must answer.
2022–2026
Maryland has sent 16 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — one of them in the first round.
Strong. 1 first-round picks. Recruits with NFL ambitions notice.
16
picks · 1 in round 1
#24
Deonte Banks
Cornerback · 2023 · 
New York Giants · #136/322 final season
New York Giants · #136/322 final season
#77
Delmar Glaze
Offensive Tackle · 2024 · 
Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders
#96
Nick Cross
Safety · 2022 · 
Indianapolis Colts · #10/509 final season
Indianapolis Colts · #10/509 final season
#39 all-time · 18 first-round picksthe talent factory →
More in this tab
Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 2-6
Season standing · 2026 · 2-6Maryland is 2-6 — below .500 in FBS.
Below .500 in FBS play. The rebuild bar.
FBS sub-.500
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Big Ten standing · 2026
17th in the Big Ten
Maryland is 17th of 18 in the Big Ten at 0-5. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on bowl access and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA | 5-0 |
| 2 | Indiana | 5-1 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 4-1 |
| 4 | USC | 4-2 |
| 5 | Illinois | 3-2 |
| 6 | Iowa | 3-2 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 3-2 |
| 8 | Northwestern | 3-2 |
| 9 | Oregon | 3-2 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 3-2 |
| 11 | Michigan | 2-3 |
| 12 | Nebraska | 2-3 |
| 13 | Purdue | 2-3 |
| 14 | Washington | 2-3 |
| 15 | Penn State | 1-4 |
| 16 | Rutgers | 1-4 |
| 17 | Maryland | 0-5 |
| 18 | Michigan State | 0-5 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Mike Locksley
- Hired Matt Canada
- Matt Canada departs
- D.J. Durkin departs
- Hired D.J. Durkin
- Randy Edsall departs
- Hired Randy Edsall
- Ralph Friedgen departs
Coordinator lineage
Maryland’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014–2015 · Mike Locksley2016–2017 · Walt Bell2018 · Matt Canada2019–2020 · Scottie Montgomery2021 · Dan Enos2022 · Dan Enos / Mike Miller (co)2023–2024 · Josh Gattis / Kevin Sumlin (co)2025 · Pep Hamilton2026 · Clint Trickett
Defense2014–2026
2014 · Brian Stewart2015 · Keith Dudzinski2016–2018 · Andy Buh2019–2020 · Jon Hoke2021 · Brian Stewart2022–2023 · Brian Williams2024 · Aazaar Abdul-Rahim (co) / Brian Williams2025–2026 · Aazaar Abdul-Rahim (co) / Ted Monachino
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
State Flag Uniforms
since 2011
more
Maryland football has worn the most variations of state-flag-themed uniforms in CFB. The Maryland state flag's heraldic checkerboard pattern translates to football jerseys, helmets, and pants in ways no other state's flag could. The uniforms are the program's most-photographed asset; Twitter screenshot ratio favors the uniforms over the actual football.
Testudo Statue
since 1933
more
Testudo, the bronze terrapin statue (1933), sits in front of McKeldin Library. Students rub his nose for finals luck. The statue has been stolen by rivals and reclaimed; he wears a helmet during game weeks. Cultural anchor that predates the football program's modern peaks.
The Fear the Turtle Slogan
since 1990s
more
Origin: 1990s lacrosse program (lax is Maryland's actual dynasty sport). Football adopted it; basketball adopted it. The slogan is the spiritual umbrella for every Terrapin athletic program. Easier to say than 'Terrapins'; meaner than the actual animal is.
Cultural identity
2023 W
2022 W
2021 W
2016 L
2014 LReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
1.2k
[Postgame Thread] Maryland Defeats Howard 79-0
All-time top community posts
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