Maryland Terrapins vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction - 11/15/2025
Updated July 9, 2026
Illinois and Maryland will meet Saturday in Champaign in a high-stakes Big Ten game that has strong implications with bowl season in mind. The Fighting Illini are 6-3 and coming off a bye week. The Terrapins are 4-5 and need to figure out a way to string some wins together if they want to make it to bowl season. Before kickoff from Champaign, continue reading to get my Illinois vs Maryland prediction.
Illinois enters this game fresh off a 35-13 win over Rutgers to get to six wins and bowl eligibility. The Illini are hoping to build momentum down the stretch to improve their place in the bowl heirarchy and this matchup provides a favorable opportunity for them to get a seventh win. Maryland is desperate for wins late in the season. With a 4-5 record and a 1-5 record in Big Ten play, the Terrapins need to pick up wins in at least two of their remaining games just to reach bowl eligibility.
One of Maryland’s strengths lies in its opportunistic defense. The Terrapins lead the Big Ten and rank second nationally with 17 interceptions. Their turnover margin is +8, which is elite. That said, their offense has been inconsistent and they will need near-perfect execution to pull off an upset this week.
Luke Altmyer of Illinois has put together a solid season. He has 2,255 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions. He completes around 70% of his passes and he will try to be efficient through the air in this game as well. The Illinois offense averages 33.1 points per game.
Maryland quarterback Malik Washington has thrown for 2,056 yards with 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on the year. Maryland has been held to 20 points or less in three straight games coming into this matchup. Their offense needs to get going if the Terrapins are going to have a chance at reaching bowl season.
Score Projection: Illinois 35 – Maryland 27
Win Probability: Illinois 88%, Maryland 12%
Illinois has been playing better football than Maryland this season. But I'm going to take the points with the Terrapins in this contest. The Terps are a desperate team and trying to keep themselves in the bowl picture here. They should keep this game close, even if Illinois ultimately gets the win on its home turf.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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