Where Football Polls and Metrics Have Maryland Placed in Week 10

Terrapins improve in three national polls and rankings despite having bye week

Maryland wide receiver Jalil Farooq can't hang on to a pass against Washington. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Maryland’s bye week meant no additional victories or losses but the national polls and rankings we monitor improved the Terps’ in three of the five.

Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) is riding a three-game losing streak and return to play Saturday afternoon at 3:30 ET against No. 2 Indiana (8-0). It is the Terps’ homecoming game.

The Terps’ highest ranking this week is 37th in the ESPN SP+ ranking, dropping from 35 last week. The Terps’ worst ranking remains 62 in The Athletic for the second consecutive week.

Each week, we’ll take a look at where seven national polls and rankings place Maryland’s football team. Maryland ranks 51.6 in an average of the polls and rankings, an increase from last week’s average of 53.2.

Maryland is projected to finish with 5.7 wins and 6.3 losses in ESPN’s Football Power Index odds, which would mean the Terps would not be bowl eligible. The projection is the same as last week.

The polls and rankings we monitor are:

* Associated Press
* The Athletic
* CBS Sports
* US LBM Coaches Poll
* ESPN’s Football Power Index
* ESPN’s SP+ rankings
* Massey Ratings

Associated Press Top 25

Maryland still has not cracked the AP Top 25 Poll, the gold standard of college football polling. After back-to-back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Washington, Nebraska and UCLA, the Terps haven’t received any votes.

The Athletic

Maryland remained the same at 62 in The Athletic’s 136 rankings. In The Athletic’s preseason rankings, Maryland was 75th.

CBS Sports 136 Rankings

Maryland improved six spots to 47 from 53.

US LBM Coaches Poll

The Terps did not receive any votes in this poll.

ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI)

The Terps improved two spots to 55 from 57. Of six FPI odds, their odds improved in one category and remained the same in the other five categories.

Here are FPI’s odds for Maryland (with last week’s odds in parentheses):

* 57.5 percent chance of winning six games; six wins would be bowl eligibility (56.8 last week)
* 5.7 projected wins to 6.3 projected losses (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of winning the Big Ten (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of making the national championship game (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of winning the national championship (same as last week)

ESPN’s SP+ rankings

The Terps went from 35 to 37.

As ESPN writer Bill Connelly says about his SP+ ratings: “It’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency … SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing.

“It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”

Massey Ratings

Massey Ratings are a compilation of 40 different college football rankings. In the consensus of the 40 rankings, the Terps ranked 57. Last week they were 59.

---

---

Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI.