- Virginia Tech at Maryland: Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET from SECU Stadium (46,185) in College Park, Md.
- Betting line: Virginia Tech -3.0
- Roster cards: Click here
- College Park weather: Click here
- Gameday information: Click here
Virginia Tech (2-0) has begun its season exactly as expected with a pair of blowout wins against VMI and Old Dominion. Now the competition will heat up with a road trip against Maryland (2-0) on the docket.
The Terrapins hammered Hampton 62-0 in their first game before easily dispatching UConn 38-14 last Saturday. Like the Hokies, it’s time for Maryland to test itself against better competition. Both coaching staffs should find out a lot about their teams this Saturday night.
It’s common for the Terps to get off to a good start and fade. In 2024, they began the season 3-1 before finishing 4-8. Last season, they were 4-0 before losing their final eight games of the season.
Have they actually improved this year, or are their fans just looking at fool’s gold? Likewise, while we know the Hokies are better than last year, exactly how much have they improved? Playing Maryland will provide some answers.
James Franklin and Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley have a bit of a history. They’ve recruited against each other in the Mid-Atlantic for years, and they also had a little incident following Penn State’s 44-7 win over Maryland in 2024. It involved some familiar names, too.
Backup quarterback Beau Pribula (Virginia’s current starter) threw a touchdown pass to Tyseer Denmark (currently playing for the Hokies) as the Nittany Lions poured it on late. Locksley took exception.
“Bullshit. That’s what it was. I respect the game. I’ve got a lot of respect for James, his program. I think it was bullshit,” Locksley said after the game, according to this 247Sports article.
Franklin defended himself in his press conference after the game.
“I get it. At the end of the game, we throw a touchdown. I get it. But there’s a couple things I would say. My job is to put the threes and fours in the game. But when the threes and fours get to go in the game, they get to play football. Those guys deserve to play football. Your ones are in the game. You were trying to score. We're trying to score. On top of that, you’re playing Cover Zero. If you don't want [us to throw], play Cover Two.“So, I’m good with it. And on top of that, there’s also a change in college football. We are trying to play as long as we can, make the playoff and be seeded as high as possible. And scoring as many points and [having] a point differential matters. All of that matters. And if you don’t get that, it’s really not my problem. So, [it’s a] W. 1-0. I’m good with it. Anybody that’s not, that’s their problem.
Ah, public spats between coaches. Things like that make college football more fun, though I think both guys have plenty of respect for each other.
I think this game will mean a lot to both guys. For Locksley, it’s about revenge and in-state pride. For Franklin, it’s about continuing to recruit at a high level in Maryland and instilling a no-mercy type of attitude in his team.
Maryland Quarterback Malik Washington
“He’s a pretty good quarterback,” Virginia Tech cornerback Jaquez White said on Monday. “He has a decent arm. I don’t really think he’s that accurate, but I mean, he’s pretty good. He’s not a runner. He’s looking to throw the ball every time.”
That’s a little bit different from the picture that Franklin painted.
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“The quarterback is a special talent,” Franklin said. “He is big, he’s athletic. I’ve known Malik for a long time, and he can make all the throws. ... I think they’ll probably end up running him more in this game than what we’ve seen over the first two games.”
So, who is correct? Both, if you want to get technical about it.
Washington (6-5, 227, So.) started as a true freshman last year and showed plenty of promise, though his completion percentage left a bit to be desired. He finished the season 273-of-473 (57.7%) for 2,963 yards, with 17 touchdowns and nine picks.
He led the Big Ten in passing attempts, probably because the Terrapins played from behind in league games for most of the season, as their 1-8 record indicates.
In the first four games of the season, Washington threw eight touchdowns and just one interception, and Maryland won all four games. In his final eight contests, he had nine touchdowns, eight picks and was below 50 percent twice. Overall, he was under 55 percent in seven of his 12 games.
He’s off to a hot start in 2026, however, completing 73.6 percent of his passes for 533 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against Hampton and UConn. How much of that is because Washington has improved, and how much of it is because the competition has been subpar? Again, you can ask the same question of Maryland’s entire team.
Washington only has six carries through the first two games. Last season, he had 56 carries over 12 games, and never had more than 10 carries in a contest. He wasn’t sacked very often — just nine times. Despite the fact that he wasn’t used often in the running game, he’s a capable runner.
• UCLA: 6 carries, 67 yards
• Rutgers: 8 carries, 164 yards
It’s true that UCLA and Rutgers weren’t good, but Washington can beat defenses with his legs. Franklin is probably right that Maryland will run him more than it did in the first two games, but the coaching staff is unlikely to employ a Kyron Drones-type of strategy.
Washington threw it 41 times last week against UConn, so the Terps seem a bit pass-happy like Virginia Tech. Also like the Hokies, they struggled to run it in their Week 2 game against a Group of Six opponent.
I was a big Washington fan when he was a top-100 recruit coming out of Archbishop Spalding in Maryland. He took official visits to Virginia Tech, Syracuse and UCF, but ultimately chose the hometown Terps.
Overall, Washington has plenty of arm talent. He can throw from a variety of arm angles, and he’s got the arm strength to stretch the field. Most of his rushing yardage seems to come from scrambles, though his long run against Rutgers last season was an option play.The biggest question mark is how much he can improve his competition percentage against quality competition.
Maryland Skill Position Players
Maryland’s running game has been questionable in two games, and its running backs lack proven production at this level.
• Iverson Howard (5-11, 197, So.): The former four-star recruit saw spot duty last year before breaking into the two-deep this season. For his career, he has 246 yards, three touchdowns and averages 3.8 yards per carry.
• Harry Dalton III (5-10, 204, r-Fr.): Dinwiddie native Harry Dalton III originally went to USC before transferring to Maryland this year. He has 32 carries for 131 yards (4.1 ypc) and three touchdowns in his career.
The Terps struggled to run consistently against UConn last week, with Howard averaging just 3.9 yards per carry and Dalton only 2.8. It was the passing game and defense that carried them to victory over their non-Power Four foe. Sound familiar?
Thirteen different players have caught passes for Maryland so far, but it’s two guys who have stood out the most.
• Chris Durr Jr. (5-11, 173, Jr.): 16 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD. The Wyoming transfer has 92 career catches for 964 yards and six touchdowns. Primarily a slot receiver, I would expect the Terps to line him up to the boundary at times in this game in an effort to isolate strong safety Tyson Flowers.
• Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding (6-0, 193, Jr.): 14 catches, 183 yards, 13.4 ypc, 2 TDs. You may remember Gladding. He had three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown against the Hokies last season while playing for Old Dominion. He’s a talented player.
Keep an eye on tight end Dorian Fleming (6-3, 245, r-Jr.). He caught 40 passes for the Terps last season after catching 49 for Georgia State in 2024.
Maryland has talent in the passing game, though perhaps not a lot of depth, and the running backs are unproven. It lit up a couple of bad defenses, but what can it do against a group that is a major step up in talent? Again, that’s a similar question that we are asking about the Hokies.
The Maryland Offensive Line
The Terrapins have rotated a lot of offensive linemen in their first two games, as you would expect in two blowouts. They’ll likely play a trio of tackles against the Hokies.
• LT Rahtrel Perry (6-5, 324, r-Sr.): Perry is a Central Connecticut State transfer who struggled a bit as a full-time starter last season in his first year at Maryland. He has played better so far this year, but it’s unknown how much that has to do with the level of competition.
• RT Jaylen Gilchrist (6-5, 290, r-Fr.): Gilchrist is a very inexperienced player from Virginia Beach (Salem). He’s done OK in his first two games against poor competition, but he’s a bit undersized, and he’ll get his first look at quality defensive ends this week.
• RT/LT Isaiah Wright (6-5, 314, Gr.): Wright has started the first two games at right tackle, but he’s also played a little on the left side. He has actually played slightly fewer snaps overall than Gilchrist despite being the starter. He’s got a lot of starting experience at both Maryland and Buffalo, and if this were baseball, he’d be considered a replacement-level player.
It seems as if Maryland will play three offensive guards against the Hokies as well.
• RG Ryan Howerton (6-6, 334, r-So.): He’s only got 345 career snaps under his belt, but Howerton seems to be the guard the Maryland coaching staff trusts the most thus far. Again, he’s been a replacement-level player in his career, but it’s a pretty small sample size.
• LG Amory Hills (6-5, 344, So.): He started last week against UConn and was part of an offensive line that struggled to get push. PFF lists him as allowing two pressures. He came off the bench in the opener against Hampton. Hills only has 201 career snaps.
• LG Talek Lockette (6-3, 316, r-Sr.): Lockette is in his first year at Maryland after playing for Texas State and UL Monroe. His grades were okay at his previous two stops, but nothing special, and he might end up beating out the inexperienced Hills.
Maryland’s most proven offensive lineman is the starting center.
• C Michael Hershey (6-5, 303, Jr.): With 1,056 career snaps, all at Maryland, he’s the only guy on the line with a lot of good experience at the P4 level. He’s on the Rimington Award Watch List (along with 12 other Big Ten centers).
Maryland has blocked pretty well as a group thus far, but there’s some inexperience here, plus some guys who have no history of performing well against P4 competition.
Virginia Tech’s defensive front will give the Terrapins their biggest challenge of the season thus far, and this is a battle I expect the Hokies to win.
The Maryland Defense
Through two games, the Terrapins rank No. 1 in the country in pass rushing grade on PFF with a mark of 91.5. To give you a comparison, Virginia Tech is No. 2 with a grade of 90.8.
Maryland has 10 sacks through two games, though it only has 14 tackles for loss as a whole, and I don’t think it attacks the line of scrimmage quite as much as the Hokies. The defensive scheme doesn’t move up front as much as Old Dominion’s, either, so this should be an easier game for the Tech offensive line from a mental standpoint. However, it will be a major physical challenge.
The Terps have played over 30 players on defense, but that depth will decrease as the competition goes up this week. They’ve been outstanding up front.
Through two games, their top 10 graders on defense are either edge defenders or interior defensive linemen. That’s despite losing edge Zahir Mathis to a season-ending injury. He had 8.5 tackles for loss and six sacks as a freshman last season.
Edge rusher Sidney Stewart (6-2, 247, So.) was another player I wanted out of high school. He took visits to Tech, West Virginia and Indiana but stayed in-state to play for Maryland. He had a great freshman year with 10.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He’s already got 11 pressures so far this season, and he’ll be a major problem for the Hokies.
DD Holmes (6-7, 257, r-So.) is another young edge who has 2.5 sacks on the season. He is a transfer from Florida State.
The big name to watch is former five-star edge Zion Elee (6-4, 233, Fr.). The St. Frances Academy product has played a lot through two games and has five pressures.
This Maryland team really brings the heat off the edge. Overall, it’s not a very experienced front, and I don’t think it is as talented on the interior as it is on the edge, but defensive line coach Randy Starks has done a great job with this group.
Maryland will play with two linebackers and a nickel more times than not, so it will be interesting to see how they defend Virginia Tech’s multi-tight end formations.
Daniel Wingate (6-5, 238, Sr.) has been a good linebacker for the Terps during his career and has a lot of experience. Trey Reddick (6-4, 216, Jr.) struggled last year in his first season as a starter, so they’ll be hoping that the Hampton native improves this year.
Judah Jenkins (5-11, 189, r-So.) could get playing time in the slot as the nickel, and his performance will be key. He struggled in a backup role last season and doesn’t have much experience.
However, I suspect that with a better opponent this week, we’ll see less of Jenkins. That means the majority of the snaps will go to West Virginia and South Alabama transfer Jordan Scruggs (5-11, 176, r-Sr.), a much more experienced and reliable player.
Will Maryland use a third linebacker more often in this game because of how many heavy formations the Hokies use? This is the conundrum that Franklin wants defensive coordinators to face.
You may recognize the name Messiah Delhomme (6-2, 202, So.) from Warwick High School in Newport News. He starts at safety and played well in 2025 as a true freshman. He’s another player who I wanted the Hokies to sign badly out of high school, and for a long time, it looked like that was going to happen, but he ultimately picked Maryland.
Sources told Tech Sideline at the time that he liked Tech better, but thought the Big Ten was the more stable league. I expect that’s a battle the Hokies would have won had Franklin been in place a couple of years earlier.
Though it’s young up front, overall, this is a solid Maryland defense that was held back last season by the offensive struggles. The traditional defensive metrics were not good, but the more advanced stats (No. 53 in DF+, for example) show that this was a unit that was often put in bad situations.
The Terps appear to have a matchup advantage against the Virginia Tech offensive line in this one.
Special Teams
Maryland hasn’t returned a kickoff so far this year, so it’s unknown what it brings to the table in that part of the game. Gladding has two punt returns for 34 yards thus far, but he only had four total returns last year with the Monarchs.
Kicker Sean O’Haire of Kildare, Ireland, was a First Team All-Big Ten player last season, and he was 21-of-24 for the Terps with a long of 49 yards. He’s extremely reliable. Punter Bryce McPherson was a Second Team All-Big Ten player last year, so the Terrapins have a good kicking game.
Virginia Tech-Maryland Game Prediction: Make Your Pick!
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Staff Rankings (out of 2,003 entries):
- David Cunningham: #880 (35-17)
- Will Stewart: #961 (34-17)
- Nick Brown: #1,179 (38-10)
- Andy Bitter: #1,258 (33-13)
- Chris Coleman: #1,593 (31-14)
Check out full results and rankings on our Game Predictions page.
Staff Predictions
Virginia Tech’s program seems to be trending up with Franklin at the helm. Meanwhile, the Locksley era in College Park seems to be fading out.
The Terrapins are 2-16 in the Big Ten over the last two seasons, and though they seem improved this season, they seemed improved after the first few games last season as well. The overall momentum for both programs would seem to favor the Hokies in this one.
That doesn’t mean that Virginia Tech is going to win, though. Each of these games are different matchups. Every opponent has a different set of strengths and weaknesses.
On paper, I believe the Hokies have more talent. However, much of that talent is inexperienced. Some of Tech’s players will be participating in their first road game, and the matchup of Maryland’s defensive line against the Hokies’ offensive line (and the blocking ability of some of Tech’s tight ends) is concerning.
The line opened at VT -3, and for most neutral observers, this one looks like one of those 50-50 games. The Hokies weren’t good in such games under Brent Pry, and it would be great if they could win one early in the Franklin era. It certainly would fill the fan base with a lot of confidence.
Schematically, I’m less concerned this week, as the Maryland defense isn’t as difficult for offensive linemen to read as ODU’s. On the other hand, the Terps have more physical talent.
What’s really interesting about this game is that there are so many similar storylines.
• Both Maryland and Virginia Tech struggled to run against Group of Six competition last week and instead relied on their starting quarterback throwing it 40-plus times.
• These two defenses rank No. 1 and No. 2 in pass rushing grades, and they’ll both be facing offensive lines with a lot of question marks.
• I doubt there are many teams with as many young, talented defensive ends as the Hokies and Maryland.
• Both of these teams are 2-0, and they’ve easily dispatched a pair of opponents with a lot less talent. It’s probable that both teams have improved. In fact, it’s a near certainty in Virginia Tech’s case. But how much have they improved?
Overall, I haven’t seen anything from either team that has surprised me, and with that, I have to stick to my preseason prediction.
If either offensive line clearly outperforms the other, then that will probably end up being the difference, but I still think it’s a skill position advantage for the Hokies. Maryland doesn’t have anybody like Luke Reynolds or Que’Sean Brown, and I also think VT’s running backs are better.
Chris’ Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Maryland 23
Will Stewart (Founder): This isn’t complicated for me. On paper, this matchup is almost dead-even. Both teams have good quarterbacks and can bring the pressure off the edge on defense, while both teams also have offensive lines that haven’t distinguished themselves. Other elements of the teams are evenly matched, or the jury is out due to poor competition.
So, it comes down to the intangibles — the things that aren’t measured, don’t show up in box scores and aren’t graded by PFF.
Throw out the coach feud. Players don’t care about that. How about Maryland’s home field advantage? Eh. It’s a night game, and the fans will be liquored up, and they don’t like James Franklin, so they’ll bring the heat. But SECU Stadium only holds 46,185 fans, and a lot of those are going to be Hokie fans.
How about coaching? Mike Locksley is 39-49 in his career, and James Franklin is 104-45. Locksley has coached nine full seasons and has taken his teams to three bowl games. James Franklin has coached 14 full seasons and has taken his teams to 13 bowl games. (The exception is 2020, and we all know what happened that year.) Locksley has coached six losing teams; Franklin has coached just two.
I could go on. The one thing Locksley has to his advantage is that he’s in his eighth year at Maryland, and Franklin is just starting to build things up in his first at Virginia Tech. Or… is that really an advantage for Locksley?
With two teams that appear so evenly-matched, I’m going with the guy who has proven that he knows how to run a program, and I’m actually going pretty big, given the narrow point spread.
Will’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Maryland 13
David Cunningham (Managing Editor): In James Franklin’s tenure at Penn State (2014-25), his record against Maryland was 9-2. The losses were in 2014 and 2020. Here’s a list of those meetings:
• 2014: Maryland 20, Penn State 19
• 2015: Penn State 31, Maryland 30
• 2016: Penn State 38, Maryland 14
• 2017: Penn State 66, Maryland 3
• 2018: Penn State 38, Maryland 3
• 2019: Penn State 59, Maryland 0
• 2020: Maryland 35, Penn State 19
• 2021: Penn State 31, Maryland 14
• 2022: Penn State 30, Maryland 0
• 2023: Penn State 51, Maryland 15
• 2024: Penn State 24, Maryland 7
One defeat was by a point in his first year. The other was during COVID. He’s a guy who knows how to beat Maryland, a school with which he has a long history. (He’s also 6-1 against Locksley, with an average margin of victory of 26.6.) Some of those were close, like the one-point win in 2015, but his teams owned that series.
Like Vegas, I expect a tight one on Saturday. I believe the Hokies will pull it out because their offensive line will hold up just a little bit more, and their talent at skill positions seems to be better. This seems to have the makings of a back-and-forth slugfest, and whichever quarterback has more time to operate will go home happy.
So, I’ll go with Tech. I’m not confident in the Terps’ offensive line, and I also think the Hokies have some game-changing players on special teams that could swing the game. I predict it’ll be close, but the Hokies will get their first non-conference win over a Power Four team since 2017 on Saturday.
David’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 26, Maryland 24
Andy Bitter (Senior Staff Writer): Maryland’s pass rush and rush defense should concern Hokies fans. Tech’s O-line still needs to prove it can hold up in the trenches, and this will be a stiff test. The Hokies’ secondary also needs to show it can handle a quarterback who is a game-changer like Malik Washington.
That said, Virginia Tech provides similar problems to the Terps with its skill guys (Que’Sean Brown and Luke Reynolds especially) and a D-line that’s gotten after people this year. In my opinion, though, it really boils down to coaching, and I think James Franklin over Mike Locksley is the biggest mismatch in the game.
Franklin loves beating Maryland and has done it pretty well over the years, with a 9-2 record against the Terps. Give the Hokies a close win on this one, ending the 15-game losing streak against non-conference competition from power leagues.
Andy’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Maryland 24
Nick Brown (Director of Media): Finally, a Power Four team to play against. Virginia Tech has had its fun with its FCS and G6 schools, but now it's time to prove what you’re really worth.
Taking a brief look at Maryland, they look eerily similar to the Hokies, statistically speaking. It’s almost frightening how close the stats are. For every game preview podcast, I make a season stat quarterback comparison graphic, and here is Ethan Grunkemeyer compared to Malik Washington.
• Grunkemeyer: 77.4 percent, 551 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
• Washington: 73.6 percent, 533 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs
Here’s to guessing that either (or both) quarterback throws his first interception of the season on Saturday. Yes, they have both played similar opponents (one FCS team and one G6 team), but both quarterbacks are also pretty darn good signal callers.
Both teams’ defensive strengths are their respective defensive lines. The game will come down to who can stop the run game and who can get home to the opposing quarterback. To spoil my buy or sell pick, I believe Tech will sack Washington one more time than Maryland will sack Grunkemeyer. Hokies win in a tight DMV affair.
Nick’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 31, Maryland 27
(For the weekly game score prediction contest, click here) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 58-7 |
55-6 |
66-7 |
52-3 |
59-3 |
(Ave.): 53.2 - 5.2 |
73-3 |
|
31-14 |
34-17 |
35-17 |
33-13 |
38-10 |
(Ave.): 39.5 - 13.6 |
44-21 |
|
27-23 |
27-13 |
26-24 |
27-24 |
31-27 |
(Ave.): 30.5 - 21.8 |
35-26 |
|
31-14 |
34-17 |
28-10 |
28-14 |
27-7 |
(Ave.) 31.3 - 12.2 |
21-14 |
|
 27-24 |
24-20 |
30-24 |
27-23 |
24-20 |
(Ave.) 28.0 - 23.3 |
35-33 |
|
38-21 |
34-13 |
31-14 |
37-24 |
34-17 |
 |
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