The Maryland Terrapins will play host to the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, looking to bounce back from a nine-point home loss to Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, the Bruins stayed undefeated by winning their Big Ten opener over Purdue in a shootout at the Rose Bowl. Maryland made the trek to Pasadena during conference play in 2025, with UCLA eking out a 20-17 victory amid a 3-9 campaign.
UCLA is a 1.5-point road favorite on Saturday at -120 moneyline odds, while Maryland has +100 moneyline odds. The game total set at 56.5 points. Here is a preview of the Week 4 showdown featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Maryland Terrapins vs. UCLA Bruins Preview
Maryland
The Terrapins opened the season with a 62-0 win over an FCS opponent, putting a total beatdown on Hampton. They proceeded to hit the road in Week 2, picking up a 38-14 win over UConn. Maryland’s return home to College Park didn’t go as planned, however, as Virginia Tech marched in and defeated coach Mike Locksley’s squad 35-26. It could have been a lot uglier, too, since the Terps were down 21 points entering the fourth quarter. Now. Maryland has ruled 18 players out with five more tagged as questionable. Those injuries probably won’t cool off Locksley’s hot seat, since he is now 7-17 against FBS opponents dating back to the start of 2024. Their fanbase being in a borderline open revolt won’t make things easier, either.
Malik Washington has been a bright spot for Maryland, completing 71.6% of his attempts for six touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 153.2 passer rating on the year thus far. And while he hasn’t done much with his legs in 2026, he did rush for 303 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. The sophomore even carved up Virginia Tech, going 30-for-44 with 359 yards, three touchdowns and a 159.2 passer rating. His favorite target this season has been Wyoming transfer Chris Durr, who has turned his Big Ten-leading 28 catches into 256 yards and three scores. Old Dominion transfer Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding is also over 200 yards already, while wideout Kaleb Webb and tight end Dorian Fleming have both broken 100.
In the backfield, DeJuan Williams turned three carries in 116 yards and two touchdowns in the opener but has since suffered a knee injury. USC transfer Harry Dalton, with his 113 yards and three touchdowns, are out too. That leaves sophomore Iverson Howard as the remaining workhorse. While he leads the Terrapins with 143 yards and four touchdowns, he mustered up just 22 yards on 11 carries in Week 3.
Maryland’s leading sacker, edge rusher DD Holmes, is questionable for Saturday’s contest. Defensive linemen Eyan Thomas and Derrick LeBlanc both have 2.0 sacks, though, with edge rusher Nahsir Taylor coming in just behind them with 1.5. Safety Messiah Delhomme is the top ball hawk in the Terps’ defensive backfield, already snagging two picks – both of which came versus Hampton. Senior linebacker Daniel Wingate leads the way with 18 tackles, fresh off a 102-tackle campaign in 2025.
Virginia Tech completed 79.5% of its passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns against this Maryland secondary a week ago. At the same time, the Hokies could only muster up 131 yards on 36 carries – good for 3.6 yards per attempt. Maryland’s opponents are now averaging 69.3 rushing yards per game and 2.1 yards per carry, but it is worth noting that might be skewed by FCS and bottom-tier independent competition.
UCLA
First-year head coach Bob Chesney has the Bruins out to a 3-0 start, despite plenty of drama in each of their first three games. UCLA was tied with Cal entering the fourth quarter of that road game, until the ground attack came alive and secured a 45-24 win for the blue and gold. A similar situation unfolded the following week against San Diego State, with the two teams stuck in a scoreless tie at the half. The Bruins only led 7-3 with eight minutes left, only to explode down the stretch again for a 28-10 victory. The Week 3 game between UCLA and Purdue was a shootout from the start, as the Boilermakers took a 28-24 advantage early in the third quarter. Once again, the Bruins wrestled back control and won 52-38.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava finally strung together a complete performance against Purdue, going 19-for-31 with 276 yards and three touchdowns. Along the way, however, the Boilermakers defense landed plenty of hits and actually knocked Iamaleava off the field on multiple occasions. The former Tennessee standout is already up to 141 yards and a touchdown as a rusher this season, demonstrating his dynamism when healthy. He is also completing 62.7% of his attempts through the air with a 139.0 passer rating.
The Bruins’ running backs have been the team’s true stars so far, led by James Madison transfer Wayne Knight. He leads the Big Ten with 345 rushing yards, on top of leading the FBS with eight rushing touchdowns. For context, UCLA had eight rushing touchdowns as a team all season in 2025. Anthony Woods is up to 228 yads and three touchdowns on the ground himself. He hasn’t even broken out as a pass-catcher, either, after reeling in 24 grabs for 211 yards and two touchdowns for the Bruins last year. Jaivian Thomas rounds out the three-headed monster in the backfield – to say nothing of Iamaleava’s talents as a runner – with 131 yards and two touchdowns of his own. UCLA ranks No. 5 in rushing yards per game, No. 4 in yards per attempt and No. 1 in rushing touchdowns across the nation this season.
Oklahoma transfer linebacker Samuel Omosigho has been the anchor of UCLA’s sporadic defense, leading the Big Ten with 21 solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and four forced fumbles. He and Jalen Woods have combined for 61 total tackles. Iowa State transfer Ta’Shawn James has a team-high two interceptions, taking on a larger role since Utah transfer Tao Johnson suffered an upper body injury in Week 1. Rodrick Pleasant also has a pick, but he and Scooter Jackson haven’t quite lived up to the hype at cornerback.
Ryan Browne torched the Bruins’ secondary for 425 yards and three touchdowns in Week 3. Looking past their matchup with the limited San Diego State quarterback Jayden Denegal, UCLA is otherwise allowing a 149.5 passer rating versus power conference opponents. The 108.7 rushing yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry the Bruins are allowing on the ground is far more comforting, given the level of competition they have faced.
Maryland Terrapins vs. UCLA Bruins Pick, Best Bet
Per ESPN’s Bill Connelly, UCLA dropped from No. 38 to No. 40 in the SP+ rankings despite a third straight win. Meanwhile, Maryland’s loss to Virginia Tech sent them from No. 39 to No. 43. Going by that tempo-adjusted and opponent-adjusted efficiency metric, Maryland is favored by 1.4 points thanks to homefield advantage – although the same model only had the Terrapins losing by 1 last week and they ultimately lost by 9.
Since UCLA and Virginia Tech both boast offenses that rank between No. 20 and No. 30 in SP+, I can see the Maryland defense getting torched again on Saturday. They simply haven’t faced a ground attack this dangerous yet. On the other hand, the Bruins’ defense ranks 15 spots lower than the Hokies’, so the Terrapins could easily outperform their 26-point showing from Week 3 as well. UCLA just allowed 38 points to the No. 62 SP+ offense, in large part because Purdue has a legit quarterback. Maryland ranks No. 50 in that category and also has a dangerous signal-caller in Malik Washington.
In what could very well be a coin flip when it comes to the winner, I feel good about a lot of points going up on the board regardless of who comes out on top. Two of UCLA’s three games have gone over 56.5, as have Maryland’s.
