Maryland vs. UCLA, Picks and Prediction, Saturday, October 18, 2025
Use Code WWWC Maryland (4-2, 1-2 B10) travels to the West Coast to meet UCLA (2-4, 2-1 B10) from the Rose Bowl on Saturday night at 7pmET. Don't miss this Maryland vs. UCLA prediction as both teams as the Terps attempt to halt a two-game losing streak and the Bruins try to extend a two-game winning streak. This will be the first meeting between these teams in the Big 10. When it comes to NCAAF selections, our College Football Picks are stellar.
Terps lose another close one
Maryland opened the season at 4-0 but was never really tested by a soft schedule. Two games ago, they jumped out to a 20-0 lead against Washington on Oct. 4, before falling apart late and losing 24-20 at home. Last Saturday, they faced Nebraska as a 7-point dog and trailed 24-17, before scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, highlighted by a Dontay Joyner 67-yard interception return off of Dylan Raiola. The Huskers scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-yard pass from Raioloa to Dane Key with 1:08 left to win the game.
The Terps lost this game despite picking off Raiola three times, going 7-of-13 on third downs and going +3 in the turnover category. However, they allowed 193 yards rushing and committed eight penalties for 100 yards. Freshman QB Malik Washington continues to progress, going 27 of 37 for 249 yards with a TD. He's now completing 62.3% of his passes for 1,506 yards with 10 TDs and two picks. Octavian Smith is his big-play target, who has 22 catches for 359 yards (16.3ypc), while TE Dorian Williams (6-3, 245) is the intermediate go-to guy who has 26 catches for 204 yards with two TDs.
Maryland does a lot of things well, including connecting on third downs at 38.2% and they are +10 in turnover ratio to lead the country. They also rank second in the Big 10 with 3.33 sacks per game and offensively, have allowed just three sacks to rank second in the Big 10. Sidney Stewart leads the team in sacks with 4.5. The Terps' biggest issue on offense is the ground game, which averages just 99.3 yards per game to rank 124th. On defense, they usually stop the run, allowing 112.8 yards per game (32nd). They are just average against the pass, allowing 228 yards per game (79th).
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Maryland is relatively healthy with some injuries on the offensive line.
UCLA rolling after coaching change
Tim Skipper took over as head coach after DeShaun Foster was fired after an 0-3 start, in which UCLA was outscored 108-43. After a bye week, the Bruins still ended up losing at Northwestern 17-14 on Sept. 27. But on Oct. 4, the UCLA season turned around after a shocking 42-37 home win over No. 7 Penn State as a 25-point underdog. QB Nico Iamaleava threw for 166 yards and two TDs and rushed for 128 yards and three scores against the Nittany Lions. They dominated time of possession in that game (39:17 to 20:43) and did the same against Michigan State last week (36:24-23:27) when they pounded them on the road 38-13.
The key is getting the running game going, which continued against the Spartans with 238 rushing yards, while they held MSU to just 87 yards on 25 carries. Iamaleava threw for 180 yards and three TDs, while Jaivian Thomas led the Bruins with 89 yards rushing and a score. The defense held the Spartans to just 253 yards of total offense and held them under 50% in completions (16-35).
On the season, Iamaleava, who started his career at Tennessee, has completed 66.3% of his passes for 1,134 yards with nine TDs and three picks. He also leads the team with 335 yards rushing and four TDs. Kwazi Gilmer leads the aerial attack with 26 catches for 313 yards and two TDs.
On offense, UCLA is averaging 356.3 yards per game (95th) and just 189 passing yards (103rd). On defense, they are allowing 369.5 yards per game and just 173.7 yards per game in the air (26th).
CB Croix Stewart and LB Ben Perry are questionable with undisclosed injuries. Defensively, the Bruins do not have a player with over 1.5 sacks and will need to get some pressure on Washington in this game. They are also tied for 73rd in turnover margin at -0.2.
Maryland vs. UCLA Pick
Spread Pick for Maryland Terrapins vs. UCLA Bruins
- Maryland +145 (ML)
Taking the money line here because Maryland is the better football team overall. They've had just one road game and they easily handled Wisconsin 27-10 on September 20. Maryland also gets tremendous pass rush pressure on their opponents, while it protects Malik Washington very well (3 sacks). He'll have plenty of time to throw against a defense that doesn't get much pressure. UCLA deserves credit for their two-game winning streak, but before that, they were getting destroyed by the likes of New Mexico (35-10) and Utah (43-10) at home. The Rose Bowl is not a great homefield advantage, as they had fewer than 40,000 when they beat Penn State in a 90,000-seat stadium. Maryland lost to better teams at home and will learn how to finish games in the fourth quarter. A big part of that is sticking with the running game, which will be productive against the nation's 125th-ranked rushing defense.
Over/Under Pick for Maryland vs. UCLA
- Under 51.5
UCLA has put up points lately, but they want to grind the game out with the running game and control the football. They've also gone under in four of their last five games. Maryland held Wisconsin to just 10 points on the road, so they are capable on defense, especially against dual-threat quarterbacks like Iamaleava. Their ability to get to the passer is a major reason why they lead the league in turnover ratio, but they are also taking care of the football on offense, which matters against teams that are similar or lesser talented. The Terps have gone under in four of their last six games.
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