Washington-Maryland
Saturday, Oct. 4
3:30 p.m. Eastern, 12:30 p.m. Pacific
Big Ten Network
The Washington Huskies and Maryland Terrapins are not realistic candidates for the College Football Playoff, but they want to build back their programs to a point where they can contend in the Big Ten.
Washington naturally should be much closer to elite status than Maryland. The Huskies played for the national championship just two seasons ago. Washington has shown it can be a top-tier program when everything is properly aligned and all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Washington made the playoff in 2016 under Chris Petersen and was a major national player for several years in the 2010s. Jedd Fisch was hired by UW to win big, not to win modestly. He has a lot of work to do with his team, which was just held to six points in a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes last season. Now comes a game Washington — purely based on talent — should win, but which could easily get tricky for reasons we will explain below.
Washington Huskies deal with Big Ten logistics
UW has to turn the page and make sure it is physically fresh
This game is a test for Washington in the new-look version of the Big Ten.
In this new world of cross-country conferences, Washington is flying across the United States to play this game on the road in College Park and the Eastern time zone. We have seen the non-Oregon West Coast Big Ten teams struggle in these situations. It happened to Washington last season. The same was true for USC in 2024, and the Trojans are continuing to struggle with flights to the Midwest or East Coast in 2025.
Washington not only has to reset the dial in terms of travel and rest and being physically fresh; the Huskies also need to clean their slate and mentally get over their loss to Ohio State. It was a big moment for Washington, hosting No. 1 OSU on national television. Washington played hard, and its defense played really well, limiting the Buckeyes to just 24 points. A lot of teams will fail to do that in 2025. Washington poured all of its intensity into that game. The Huskies have to make sure they aren’t pancake-flat for this game, in which Maryland is waiting to spring an ambush.
Washington Huskies-Maryland Terrapins Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Washington -6.5 (-110), Maryland +6.5 (-110)
Total: 53.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Maryland +190
The detail you need to pay attention to is that Maryland is coming off an idle week. Maryland has had two weeks to prepare for this game, while Washington could be both physically and mentally exhausted after the Ohio State battle and a long cross-country flight. Taken without context, Washington is a much better team than Maryland, but the added contextual details could really work in Maryland’s favor. The line is currently at 6.5 points for Washington. If the line moves to 7.5, Maryland plus the points would be a great play. As is, 6.5 feels like a stay-away line, with bettors best served by waiting 10 to 20 game minutes for a possible live play midway through the first half.