Maryland Football: What's a fair expectation for the Terrapins in 2025?
The 2025 season definitely represents a pivotal year for Mike Locksley as head coach of the Maryland Terrapins. Following a brutal 4-8 season in 2024, Locksley is still looking for his first breakthrough season in College Park. Although he was able to string together back-to-back eight win seasons in 2022-23, the reality is that 8-5 isn't good enough in today's college football. Through seven seasons at Maryland, Locksley has achieved an overall record of just 33-41, far from anything that could be considered successful. But in order to turn things around in 2025, what would Locksley need to achieve? What does success look like for the Terrapins in a loaded Big Ten conference?
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Before we dive into that, let's take a look at the 2025 schedule:
- Aug. 30 - Florida Atlantic
- Sep. 6 - NIU
- Sep. 13 - Towson
- Sep. 20 - at Wisconsin
- BYE
- Oct. 4 - Washington
- Oct. 11 - Nebraska
- Oct. 18 - at UCLA
- BYE
- Nov. 1 - Indiana
- Nov. 8 - at Rutgers
- Nov. 15 - at Illinois
- Nov. 22 - Michigan
- Nov. 29 - at Michigan State
For starters, the schedule is very favorable for the Terrapins considering how stacked the conference is. Maryland avoids having to play Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, and USC in 2025. The Terps also play five of their first six games at home, providing the opportunity for a strong start in familiar territory. And while the Terrapins close out the season playing three of the last five on the road, all three road contests - at Rutgers, at Illinois, and at Michigan State - are all very winnable games.
With all of that in mind, it's fair to expect an eight win season from the Terrapins in 2025, which is likely what it will take in order for the season to be considered a success. Anything below eight wins would keep Locksley's future in College Park in question. Anything above eight wins would signal that the Terrapins may be on the verge of potentially becoming a playoff team within one of the most difficult conferences in the country.
It's worth noting that Maryland lost 21 players to the transfer portal this off-season, which is among the most losses of any program in the country. But Locksley also did a great job in supplementing various needs via the portal, starting with former Oklahoma wideout Jalil Farooq and UCLA QB Justyn Martin. Locksley has also done a relatively good job on the recruiting trail during his time in College Park, signing a top 10 class within the conference in all but two of his seven seasons as head coach.
The bottom line is that the schedule is very favorable for the Terrapins and there's still plenty of talent on the roster. If Locksley can take care of business at home and steal a few on the road, it's entirely reasonable to expect an eight win season from the Terrapins in 2025.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.