• 9/4 vs. West Virginia
• 9/11 vs. Howard
• 9/17 at Illinois
• 9/25 vs. Kent State
• 10/1 vs. Iowa
• 10/9 at Ohio State
• BYE WEEK
• 10/23 at Minnesota
• 10/30 vs. Indiana
• 11/6 vs. Penn State
• 11/13 at Michigan State
• 11/20 vs. Michigan
• 11/27 at Rutgers

Surprised it didn't end up being Towson that took the Week 2 slot, since their game last season was cancelled and both had a 9/11 opening.

If they want to go bowling this season, a 4-0 start could be a must, as anything more than 2 wins on the rest of that schedule could be very hard to come by.

Short week on the road....ugh. At least it’s coming off a game vs Howard, where (hopefully) the starters will be done at halftime.

Short week on the road....ugh. At least it’s coming off a game vs Howard, where (hopefully) the starters will be done at halftime.

I feel like in terms of getting the program national attention, Friday night games are cool. No one is gonna watch Maryland-Illinois on a Saturday outside of fans of the two teams, but make it primetime with no major competition in the sport? Deal. 

More times finalized

They also announced the Indiana game as Homecoming.

Makes way more sense than Michigan in 2019 lol

Anyone willing to go on the record with their predictions for the season? I gotta say, I'm having a really tough time forming expectations for this team, based on them only playing 5 games last year and how wildly inconsistent they were in those games.

Howard is the only certain win. Ohio State is all but a certain loss. Indiana and Penn State are very likely losses. Iowa and Michigan probably are too. WV, Illinois, Kent State, Minnesota, Michigan State and Rutgers are the toss-ups where they have little margin for error. I think if they are going to make a bowl game, a 4-0 start could be a must, as the middle portion of the schedule is brutal. They have to avoid going into too much of a mental tailspin during that stretch that they can't bounce back to pick up what will probably be needed wins against MSU and Rutgers. My confidence level in these picks is only about a 6, and might be too optimistic, but here goes:

9/4 vs. West Virginia  W

9/11 vs. Howard  W

9/17 at Illinois  W

9/25 vs. Kent State  W

10/1 vs. Iowa  L

10/9 at Ohio State  L

10/23 at Minnesota  L

10/30 vs. Indiana  L

11/6 vs. Penn State  L

11/13 at Michigan State  W

11/20 vs. Michigan  L

11/27 at Rutgers  W

Early surprising win that gets everybody excited that things are headed in the right direction followed nearly immediately by an inexplicable loss.  

Early surprising win that gets everybody excited that things are headed in the right direction followed nearly immediately by an inexplicable loss.

Kent State isn’t a toss up cmon.

I think that's one that will be harder than some may think. KSU can score with just about anyone. Their defense is no good, so the Terps need to have the offense rolling. I do think they'll find a way to win, but if they don't bring it, it could be a repeat of Bowling Green in 2015.

Early surprising win that gets everybody excited that things are headed in the right direction followed nearly immediately by an inexplicable loss.  

Fortunately Temple isn't on the schedule this year.

They've got plenty of positional talent.  They've got two QB's with promise.  The DL is improved, and has more depth. LB looks solid. The Secondary can be really good. 

If the O-Line can be anywhere near average; they should be in most games. 

Taulia was awesome some weeks and dreadful some others. Not just hoping he can be consistently good, hoping you can avoid real clunkers. 

At Ohio State is a game with low % chances of winning obviously.

But Iowa, Indiana and Penn State at home? Even if you are dogs with 33-40% chances of winning, you should be in those games with real chances.  If you aren't, something (the O-line imploding, the QBs blowing out their ACLs) figures to have happened. 

(Conversely, I'd expect the Terps to be favored at Michigan State and Rutgers... but those should be competitive games.) 

IDK...  just start with beating WVU.   Rival, home, good solid program.  Start with that.  Try not to shoot yourself in the foot with penalties, turnovers, etc.  That game could set the tone either way.
 

IDK...  just start with beating WVU.   Rival, home, good solid program.  Start with that.  Try not to shoot yourself in the foot with penalties, turnovers, etc.  That game could set the tone either way.

Agree. Despite recent precedence (starting the season with a big OOC win, only to fall apart after), I think the WVU game will be pivotal for how the season will go. The current Mountaineers are a much different team than Terps fans are used to seeing in the past...very good defensively, meh on offense. If MD can get the ball in the hands of the playmakers often enough, I think they win. Taulia and the O-Line will make-or-break them in that one.

It's really hard to make predictions because as you said, it's hard to know where this team is in their development after such a weird 2020 season. I remember being very disappointed that the Ohio State game was cancelled last year, because it would've been great to see how they stacked up after upsetting Penn State on the road.

The schedule sets up pretty favorably for Maryland this year. Ohio State is the only ranked team they'll play on the road, and in fact none of their other road opponents received votes in the AP's preseason poll. This is Locksley's third year, they ought to be in a bowl game come December.

I think 6-7 wins is my prediction, though if all the chips fall their way they could get to 8 or even 9. But for me, as long as they're in a bowl game after this year it's a successful one. As long as Taulia doesn't leave early, 2022 is the year where everything could really come together.