Kickoff: Saturday, September 5 at 7:00 PM CT
Location: SECU Stadium
TV: BTN
DraftKings line (Aug. 30): MD -45.5
Over/under: 56.5

The setup

Maryland is 19-0 against FCS teams since 2000, winning by 33.1 points on average while allowing only 10.6. Hampton is trying to turn the first meeting into the first exception in 26 years.

What I’m watching

Hampton beat Virginia Lynchburg 45-0 in Week 0, with Jalen Woods completing 15 of 26 for 191 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. The urgent issue is ball security after Hampton gave it away 3 times. That has to improve before any comparison with Maryland matters.

Personnel snapshot

• A veteran FBS core: Hampton’s Van Malone is in Year 1; Maryland’s Mike Locksley is in Year 8. Maryland returns 13 starters—6 on offense and 7 on defense.
• The favorite’s run-game test: Maryland averaged only 104.3 rushing yards per game last season. Against Hampton, winning is expected; showing a more dependable run game would be the more useful result. The offense brings back 6 starters.
• The quarterback matchup: Jalen Woods led Hampton’s passing in Week 0 (15 of 26 for 191 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT); Malik Washington returns as Maryland’s starter (2,963 yards, 17 TD and 9 INT in 2025). Neither passer should need to win the game alone; avoiding the first bad turnover is the more important opening-night test.

Three quick analysis points

• Ball security is already the flashing warning light for Hampton: Hampton gave the ball away 3 times in Week 0. No other statistic matters much if that repeats.
• The scoring trend: Maryland owns the nation’s longest active nonconference winning streak at 18. Under Mike Locksley, the Terps are 20-1 in those games and average 40.3 points, so Hampton’s upset path cannot become a track meet.
• The defensive challenge: Hampton already has a runner with 132 yards at 16.5 per carry, while Maryland ranked 99th nationally against the run last season at 175.6 yards allowed per game. The biggest underdog still found one matchup it can test immediately.

Prediction

I make final predictions on my TikTok/YouTube/Instagram/Facebook pages @uthinkuknowsports.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.