Opponent Preview: Week 10 – Maryland Terapins

Week: 10

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026

Location: West Lafayette, Indiana

Time: TBA

TV: TBA

Seasons at School (as head coach): 8

Overall Coaching Record: 39-75

(’09-’11) New Mexico: 2-26

(’19-26) Maryland: 37-49

Overall Record: 4-8

Conference Record: 1-8

FAU: W – 39-7

Northern Illinois: W – 20-9

Towson: W – 44-17

Wisconsin: W – 27-10

Washington: L – 20-24

Nebraska: L – 31-34

UCLA: L – 17-20

(2) Indiana: L – 10-55

Rutgers: L – 20-35

Illinois: L – 6-24

(18) Michigan: L – 20-45

Michigan State: L – 28-38

Passing Yards: Malik Washington (Returning) – 2963

Touchdown Passes: Malik Washington – 17

Rushing Yards: DeJuan Williams (Returning) – 501

Rushing Touchdowns: Malik Washington – 4

Receiving Yards: Shaleak Knotts – 717

Receiving Touchdowns: Shaleak Knotts – 6

Total Touchdowns: Shaleak Knotts – 6

Tackles: Daniel Wingate (Returning)- 102

Sacks: Sidney Stewart (Returning) – 7

Tackles for Loss: Sidney Stewart – 10.5

Interceptions: Jamare Glasker (Returning), Jalen Husky – 4

Quarterback: Malik Washington

Offensive line: Isaiah Wright

Running back: DeJuan Williams

Wide Receiver / Tight End: Dorian Fleming (TE)

Defensive Line: Zahir Mathis, Sidney Stewart

Linebacker: Daniel Wingate

Secondary: Jamare Glasker

15th out of 18 Big 10 Teams

Full credit to Mike Locksley; he’s a survivor. Most coaches don’t have the opportunity to achieve their first winning conference record in year 8 of their tenure. The program that terrorized me as a Clemson undergrad during the Ralph Friedgen era hasn’t put together a winning conference campaign since 2010, when the Fridge went 5-3 in the ACC, 9-4 overall, and somehow got fired. Their best conference finish since joining the Big 10 was in 2014 when the Randy Edsall-led Terps went 4-4, which also happened to be Maryland’s first season in the Big 10. Over that same period, Purdue managed 3 winning seasons despite employing both Darrell Hazell and Ryan Walters (shout-out to Coach Brohm).

It appears Maryland fans are feeling a little frisky about their chances in 2026, mainly due to the return of quarterback Malik Washington. The former 4* recruit out of Baltimore was a huge recruiting win for the Locksley staff, and they didn’t waste any time getting him on the field. As a first-year player in 2025, Washington threw for 17 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, and 2963 yards while running for an additional 4 touchdowns and 303 yards. The Terps started the season 4-0, including a 27-10 win on the road in Madison to open their Big 10 slate. They would finish the season 4-8. I’m still trying to figure out how they lost the season finale to Michigan State despite Washington throwing for 459 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

Hope springs eternal when a team has an established starting quarterback everyone believes in, and that’s the situation Maryland finds itself in this season. I’ve seen them listed as a team that could potentially outplay their preseason expectations on a couple of different sites, mainly based on Washington’s ability. At 6’5″, 230 pounds, he’s a physical specimen with a rocket arm and enough mobility to scramble to run or pass. I assume he’s tough to stop on short yardage plays as well (don’t get many 3rd and short QB sneak highlights). He wasn’t the most accurate quarterback last season, but that’s not unusual for a first-year player in the Big 10, and he’s already getting some 2027 NFL draft buzz as the potential overall pick.

The main question regarding the Mayland offense isn’t the quarterback, which is always a good place to start; the question is the talent surrounding the quarterback, which remains questionable. At the same time, with a talent like Washington pulling the trigger, someone has to step up and establish themselves as a receiving threat, which is one reason I think they’ll be better than the media predicts. If Purdue is going to find a way to beat one of the more beatable teams on their schedule, it starts and ends with figuring out a way to slow down Malik Washington.

On defense, edge rusher Sidney Stewart returns for his second season after leading the Terps in sacks (7) and tackles for loss (10.5) in his first year of college football. He’s a demon off the edge, and Maryland will move him around the line of scrimmage to hunt for matchups. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles a steady diet of double teams this season because he won’t be sneaking up on anyone; he’ll be the top line on the offensive scouting report.

In addition to Stewart, they return 2025 leading tackler Daniel Wingate at middle linebacker and cornerback Jamare Glasker, who tied for the team lead in interceptions last season. It seems like the Terps have something cooking with all their returning pieces on defense, but keep in mind most of these players were part of a unit ranked 97th in total defense. They were 99th in rushing defense and 82nd in rushing yards allowed. Coach Locksley is counting on continuity to improve the defense because, aside from defensive tackle Lavon Johnson and cornerback Amari Jackson, this is a homegrown defense.

Purdue desperately needs to win this game. It’s in West Lafayette and comes directly after what could be a tough Penn State game. It won’t be easy. Maryland has some quality talent, including a potential star at quarterback, but such is life in the Big 10.

Everyone has money, and everyone has talent; so does Purdue. In the immortal words of Al Davis, “Son, did you pay someone to do that to your hair?” …sorry, wrong quote…

“Just win, baby!”