Where Maryland Football Stands After Week 2
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Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins took care of business Saturday in East Hartford, defeating UConn 38-14 and moving to 2-0 on the young season.
But for the second straight week, several other Big Ten programs hit a lot more turbulence, including not just one but two losses from AP Top-10 programs. We'll begin with the latter of those two games...
Number 1 No More
What started as a dominant showing for the once-removed National Champions turned into absolute cinema in Austin.
No. 1 ranked Ohio State held a commanding 23-3 lead over No. 4 Texas entering the fourth quarter. To that point, the Longhorns' offense had been largely inefficient, with several drive stalling drops and one incredibly flimsy interception.
That was until Arch Manning put together a comeback that showed why he is a Heisman candidate, leading Texas to three straight touchdown drives and a 24-23 victory.
The Buckeyes' collapse also involved yet another missed field goal that would have effectively sealed the game, as well as poor clock management by head coach Ryan Day.
THE KICK IS WIDE LEFT 🤯
— ESPN (@espn) September 13, 2026
TEXAS GETS THE BALL BACK DOWN 6 🍿
📺 ABC and the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/8ZuKKVn53z
This outcome doesn't mean that the Terps' trip to the Shoe in Week 6 will be any easier - in fact, Ohio State should shouldn't be overlooking any opponent, with a second loss likely to knock them out of a first round Playoff bye.
The Buckeyes dropped down to No. 6 in the AP rankings after this defeat, but they were not the only Big Ten titan to be slain on Saturday...
"What a Scene in Stillwater"
The Oregon Ducks were the other victim of a major upset, falling to Oklahoma State 39-31 Saturday afternoon.
Don't let the final score fool you: Oregon was utterly outplayed by a squad that lost by 14 to Tulsa last weekend.
The Cowboys outgained the Ducks 554 yards to 281, and the only reason this ended as a one score game was a pair of gift interceptions that were both converted into TDs.
Coupled with last week's very close game against Boise State, and all of a sudden, what was supposed to be a Big Ten Championship contender has some serious soul searching to do before conference play begins. For now, they sink all the way down to No. 21 in the AP poll.
Other Terps Opponents Tumble
Maryland's old ACC conference mates also did some damage to a trio of other Big Ten programs:
- Duke squeezed out a 31-27 victory at Illinois, handing the Fighting Illini a huge blow after they started the year just outside the Top-25. The Terps host Illinois Halloween weekend in what is regarded as a toss-up game.
- Boston College became the second Massachusetts based team to beat Rutgers, holding on for a 28-21 win in Chestnut Hill. The Scarlet Knights' season already looks dead in the water, and their Week 7 matchup in College Park may be without head coach Greg Schiano.
- Wake Forest outlasted Purdue 38-36 in double overtime, putting a sour end on what was otherwise a performance from the Boilermakers' offense. Maryland travels to West Lafayette November 7 and is currently projected as a strong favorite.
Top-25 Shuffling
After their near nebacle in Week 1, Michigan rebounded to form and stunned No. 11 Oklahoma 17-10 in the Big House. The win bumped them back up to No. 19 - three ranks below where they started.
Meanwhile, four other Big Ten teams remain ranked after their own Week 2 victories:
- Indiana at No. 4
- USC at No. 12
- Penn State at No. 14
- Iowa at No. 18
(Despite also winning, Washington was overtaken by Virginia at the No. 25 spot.)
Maryland did not receive any votes, but they next face a Virginia Tech squad who was just outside the pack with 11. The Hokies defeated Old Dominion 44-21 and head to College Park for a 7:30 showdown on Saturday.
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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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