Where Maryland Ranks in National College Football Polls in Week 9

Maryland’s downward spiral on the football field has been followed by a drop in the national polls and rankings.

Maryland (4-3) dropped in all five polls we monitor and the Terps were not ranked nor received votes in two other polls: the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.

The Terps lost their third consecutive game Saturday in which they held the lead in the fourth quarter. Maryland fell to UCLA, 20-17, at the Rose Bowl.

The Terps’ highest ranking this week is 35th in the ESPN SP+ poll, dropping from 31 last week. The Terps’ worst ranking is 62 in The Athletic.

Each week, we’ll take a look at where seven national polls place Maryland’s football team. Maryland ranks 53.2 in an average of the polls, a sharp decrease from last week’s average of 43.

The Terps are on a bye week before returning for a home game on Nov. 1 to play national power Indiana.

Maryland is projected to finish with 5.7 wins and 6.3 losses in ESPN’s FPI odds, which would mean the Terps would not be bowl eligible.

The polls we monitor all season 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 dropped seven places this week, going from 55 to 62 — the second consecutive week the Terps dropped seven spots. In The Athletic’s preseason rankings, Maryland was 75th.

CBS Sports 136 Rankings

Maryland dropped eight spots from 45 to 53.

US LBM Coaches Poll

The Terps did not receive any votes in this poll.

ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI)

The Terps dropped six spots from 51 to 57. Of six FPI odds for the Terps, their odds decreased in two categories and remained the same in the other four categories.

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

* 56.8 percent chance of winning six games; six wins would be bowl eligibility (74.3 last week)
* 5.7 projected wins to 6.3 projected losses (6.2 wins to 5.8 losses 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 31 to 35.

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 59. Last week they were 53.

More from Maryland On SI

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