Maryland's last trip to the Coliseum ended with USC blowing a fourth-quarter lead and losing on a last-minute touchdown. The Terrapins get a return date at USC, only this time the stakes for the Trojans look a lot higher.
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USC brings a deeper, more talented roster and a quarterback who led the nation in QBR last season, while Maryland is replacing 9 starters and was picked to finish near the Big Ten basement. The gap on paper heavily favors the Trojans winning outright at home. Backing USC to win isn't a bold read here, it's the baseline expectation.
Maryland
+Malik Washington entrenched as starter, no QB battle
+14 returning starters, 2nd-most in FBS
+5-star Elee headlines top-45 2026 class
−Just 1-8 in Big Ten play in 2025
−Lost 5 offensive, 4 defensive starters to portal/exhaustion
−Preseason win total set at just 4.5
USC
+Maiava returns after leading nation in QBR
+No. 1-ranked 2026 recruiting class
+Most returning starters of any FBS team
−Riley has never reached CFP in 4 seasons at USC
−Lost DC Lynn to Penn State, 21 defensive portal departures
−Brutal slate with 8 of Big Ten's preseason top-10 teams
Malik Washington enters his second straight season as Maryland's unquestioned starter, the first time in three years the Terps haven't had a quarterback battle in camp. Across the field, Jayden Maiava re-signed to run it back for USC after leading the nation in QBR during the regular season and throwing for 3,431 yards. Both programs are building around known commodities at the position, which makes everything around those two quarterbacks the real story of this matchup.
Maryland's roster looks nothing like the one that lost to USC in 2024. The Terps lost 17 players to the portal and 7 more to eligibility, including 5 offensive starters and 4 defensive starters, though they still bring back 14 returning starters overall, tied for second-most in the country. USC has its own churn: defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn left for Penn State, and Lincoln Riley replaced him with veteran Gary Patterson. Preseason win totals put the gap in plain terms, with Maryland projected around 4.5 wins against USC's 8.5.
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There's real history here even if the sample size is one game. USC blew a 28-14 lead in College Park in 2024 and lost 29-28 on a late Billy Edwards Jr. touchdown run, the only previous meeting between these two Big Ten newcomers. That result won't mean much to either roster now, but it's the only data point either fan base has to point to.
Maryland Terrapins
Nov 13?vs Wisconsin—
Nov 6?@ Purdue—
Oct 30?vs Illinois—
Oct 16?vs Rutgers—
Oct 9?@ Ohio State—
Oct 2?@ Nebraska—
Sep 25?vs UCLA—
Sep 19?vs Virginia Tech—
Sep 12?@ UConn—
Sep 5?vs Hampton—
USC Trojans
Nov 13?@ Indiana—
Oct 30?vs Ohio State—
Oct 9?@ Penn State—
Oct 2?vs Washington—
Sep 25?vs Oregon—
Sep 19?@ Rutgers—
Sep 12?vs Louisiana—
Sep 4?vs Fresno State—
Aug 29?vs San José State—
Recent form.
Locksley is back for an eighth season after Maryland's athletic director initially wouldn't commit to him, and he inherits a program that's won exactly one conference game in each of the last two years. The 5-star pass rusher Elee headlines a top-45 recruiting class that suggests the roof is higher than 1-8 in Big Ten play, but that's a 2026 story, not a right-now one. USC, meanwhile, is being framed as a program with no more excuses — Riley has never sniffed the College Football Playoff in four seasons, and a No. 1-ranked recruiting class plus the most returning starters in the country raise the bar considerably.
Maryland Terrapins
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
USC Trojans
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
USC's problem is the schedule sitting in front of this one, with road trips to Penn State, Wisconsin and Indiana against a slate that includes 8 of the Big Ten's preseason top 10 teams. If the Trojans are still chasing playoff positioning by the time Maryland shows up, this could be a legitimately charged environment at the Coliseum. If USC has already stumbled through that gauntlet, it turns into exactly the kind of game a talented, deeper roster is supposed to handle without much drama.
