Maryland Football Gets Two Early Primetime Slots in 2026
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Game times have been revealed for the first three weeks of the upcoming college football season, and the Maryland Terrapins will have some late kickoffs in their non-conference slate.
The Terps open the season Saturday, September 5 with their FCS game against Hampton. That contest will have an 8pm kickoff, and it will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
The next week, Maryland has their first road trip of the year: a 3:30 kick at still-Independent UConn. That game will be featured on CBS Sports Network.
After that, it's back to College Park for a big matchup against James Franklin and former ACC opponent Virginia Tech. The Terrapins and Hokies will be in front of a national audience, with either FOX or FS1 set to broadcast the 7:30 game.
The last time Maryland began the season with three straight games out of the noon slot was 2023, which also featured one mid-afternoon and two evening starts.
Additionally, the Terps' Week 6 game at Ohio State will start "between 3:30 and 8" according to a release on the Buckeyes' website.
Head coach Mike Locksley will attempt to guide the Terps back to bowl eligibility after a pair of 4-8 seasons. He'll do so with a roster that contains the second-most returning production across all FBS teams, behind only Notre Dame.
Star quarterback Malik Washington is staying in College Park after setting program records for most completions (273) and passing yards (2,963) as a freshman. With Washington, the Terps should remain one of the more pass-heavy offenses in the Big Ten.
On the other side of the ball, Maryland's greatest strength should be an incredibly stacked edge group that features All-Americans Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart, five-star recruit Zion Elee, and Terps legacy prospect Jianni Davis .
To supplement the top talents on the roster, Locksley assembled a transfer portal class of 15 players. The group features two experienced G6 receivers, a veteran ACC corner, help for both the offensive and defensive lines, and, most recently, a running back returning after some time away from football.
Together, the Terps will look to continue their national-best 18-game non-conference winning streak. VT presents the greatest challenge towards that, but with a an always difficult conference slate awaiting them afterwards, the best chance for a 13th game involves winning the first three.
Kickoff times and TV partners for the rest of the regular season will be announced up to two weeks in advance.
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Mike joined Maryland On SI with over four years of sportswriting experience. He started off his career in Syracuse on the Orange football beat, where he was featured on CBS Sports' Cover 3 Podcast and local ESPN sports talk radio. After that, he had a brief stint reporting on Major League Baseball before returning to college sports.
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