Maryland heads to Lincoln with a settled quarterback for the first time in three years, while Nebraska tries to figure out life after Dylan Raiola in prime time.
Bush’s Picks
MDNEB
MDNEB
OverUnder
Best BetMaryland
Maryland brings the more proven commodity at the position that decides these games — Washington's already been a full-season Big Ten starter, while Nebraska is trusting a first-year man under center. That continuity gap is worth backing on the road against a Husker team still finding its quarterback.
This one's a measuring-stick game for two programs that keep insisting they're on the verge of something bigger. Maryland's building around a sophomore who already looks like a Big Ten problem, and Nebraska is banking on a portal quarterback to keep Matt Rhule's rebuild trending up instead of stalling out.
Malik Washington threw for 2,963 yards and 17 touchdowns as a true freshman a year ago, and new offensive coordinator Clint Trickett is building the whole attack around him. For the first time in three seasons College Park isn't dealing with a quarterback controversy — Washington's the unquestioned starter, with transfer Devin Kargman as a credible fallback if anything goes sideways.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
MD Maryland
NEB Nebraska
Nebraska's answer at the position is murkier. Raiola broke his fibula last November and bolted for Oregon in the offseason, leaving Anthony Colandrea — last year's Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year at UNLV — as the presumptive favorite over TJ Lateef, who started the final four games in relief. By early October the Huskers should know what they've got, but this is still a first-year starter walking into a home Big Ten game under the lights.
Maryland Terrapins
Sep 25?vs UCLA—
Sep 19?vs Virginia Tech—
Sep 12?@ UConn—
Sep 5?vs Hampton—
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Sep 25?@ Michigan State—
Sep 19?vs North Dakota—
Sep 12?vs Bowling Green—
Sep 5?vs Ohio—
Recent form.
The bigger shadow over Nebraska isn't the quarterback room, it's the ceiling. Rhule has the program back to bowl games, which was the bare minimum sold to fans when he was hired, but the Huskers are 0-10 over the last three seasons against the Big Ten's actual contenders — Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Indiana. Maryland isn't in that tier yet, but that history matters for how much stock to put in a Nebraska home win here.
Maryland Terrapins
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Nebraska Cornhuskers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Locksley overhauled his offensive staff again this offseason, and the early returns on Washington's development suggest it's working. If the Terps' offensive line holds up and Washington keeps making plays with his legs the way he did as a freshman, Maryland has a real path to knocking off a Nebraska team still sorting out its identity under center.
