DJ Durkin and his Terps have a rough road ahead this upcoming season.
Playing in the Big Ten East with foes like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State, Maryland will never have an easy football schedule. But this year, Maryland is slated with the toughest football schedule of any team in the country.
Maryland was one of several teams in the Big Ten to have some of the hardest schedules in the nation, including Michigan (#3), Ohio State (#8), Rutgers (#17), Purdue (#22) and Nebraska (#23).
Maryland’s opener will be against Texas, a traditional football powerhouse. Despite three consecutive losing seasons, the Longhorns hired former Houston coach Tom Herman, who is expected to build the program back to its heights. In two seasons at Houston, Herman had a 22-4 record, including an eye-opening victory against Florida State in the Peach Bowl. It’s tough to like Maryland’s chances against a reenergized Longhorn team, especially playing in Austin.
After two winnable non-conference games against Towson and UCF, Maryland will face seven bowl teams from the previous season in Big Ten play. Only Michigan State and Rutgers missed out on the postseason, and while expectations are typically low for Rutgers, it is tough to imagine Michigan State having another three-win season this year. In addition to the grueling Big Ten East games (Michigan, MSU, Ohio State and Penn State) Maryland also has road games against Wisconsin and Minnesota that will be equally as challenging.
Maryland has until September 1st to gear up for the Longhorns. Hopefully Durkin has some tricks up his sleeve for the Terps.
