Maryland Terrapins at UCLA Bruins Game Thread
Can the Bruins make it three in a row when they host the Terrapins this afternoon?
After traveling 2,000 miles for last week’s game against Michigan State, the Bruins return home today and welcome a Maryland team which is traveling even further to play UCLA. Ironically, today is the Bruins’ annual Homecoming game. It’s ironic because, if you think about the team’s last two games, the interim administration of Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel have been a bit of a homecoming as the team has displayed a level of creativity which hasn’t been seen in a really, really long time.
It’s as if the duo have channeled the Ghost of Homer Smith.
Today, Tim and Jerry may have their work cut out for them as the Bruins face a team tied for the 17th in the country in fewest touchdowns. In fact, Maryland has allowed just seven touchdowns in their opponents’ 18 Red Zone opportunities, and they have still allowed just one Red Zone rushing touchdown all season. They are one of just three teams in FBS to be that stingy on the ground.
Let’s look at the Keys to the Game.
Keys to the Game
1. Stay Creative
One thing we’ve seen since Tim Skipper took over as been a UCLA team whose playcalling is more creative than we’ve seen since in years. You might even need to go back to the Bob Toledo years to see this kind of creative playcalling. We’ve seen fake punts. We’ve seen an onside kick in the first half. We’ve seen shifts from shotgun formation to directly snap the ball to a running back. We’ve seen the team go for it a lot more in key fourth down situations.
In short, the Tim and Jerry Show has actually made Bruin football fun again for the first time in forever. The Bruins need to keep using this kind of creativity whenever they can.
2. Get Pressure on Malik Washington
Maryland likes to throw the ball. In fact, they throw almost 60% of the time. That means the quickest way to disrupt the Terrapin offense is to put pressure on QB Malik Washington.
The Terps are giving up more than three sacks per game and Washington doesn’t have much of a tendency to take off and run with the ball. Instead, Maryland’s offense prefers to mix up their passing game with short, intermediate and deep passes. Putting pressure on Washington can potentially take away the deeper threats while also forcing the freshman to mistakes.
3. Keep Scoring Touchdowns
Last week, the UCLA offense followed up the Penn State win with a nice encore. But, now, the Bruins aren’t going to surprise anyone else. With Jerry Neuheisel calling the offensive plays, the Bruins have proved they can score touchdowns. Today’s game will be the hard part. Maryland has allowed just 12 touchdowns to their opponents this season. The good news is that they gave up four of those 12 TDs to Nebraska last week. So, this stat may have been skewed by holding their three non-conference foes to just four touchdowns.
Listen to the Game With TMB!
Today’s game is on FS1 with Noah Reed and Robert Smith calling the game. If you would rather listen Josh Lewin and Matt Stevens call today’s game, you can listen to the game online while chatting in the TMB game thread. Just right click on the link and open it in another tab so you can have it playing while you chat in the comments below. That way, you can listen to Josh Lewin, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook call today’s game.
Join your fellow Bruins discussing today’s game in the comments section below, but before you get there, here’s how to watch today’s game:
UCLA Football (2-4, 2-1)
Opponent: Maryland Terrapins (4-2, 2-2)
Series Record: Tied 1-1
When: 4:00 pm PT, Saturday, October 18, 2025
Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Live TV: FS1 with Noah Reed and Robert Smith
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports and FoxOne apps
Radio/Audio:
KABC-AM 790 in Los Angeles with Josh Lewin, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 139 and XM Ch. 197 (UCLA Call)Online: UCLABruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Rebroadcast (All times PT):
Monday, 10/20 at 6:00 am on FS2Monday, 10/20 at 7:30 pm on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Monday, 10/20 at 11:30 pm on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Tuesday, 10/21 at 4:00 am on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Tuesday, 10/21 at 8:30 pm on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Wednesday, 10/22 at 12:00 am on FS2
Go Bruins!!!
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