Nebraska 48-23 Maryland (Oct 3, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Maryland · Nebraska

Maryland2-323

Nebraska5-048Final

Sat, Oct 3 · Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE), Lincoln, Neb. · Crowd 85,033

Nebraska beat Maryland 48-23.

We had Nebraska favored. It won.

Next: Maryland lost to Ohio State 45-16, Sat Oct 10

Next: Nebraska lost to Indiana 20-17, Sat Oct 10

Top comment in the game thread

You reading this have been assessed a 15 yard penalty

Q2 0:25 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Oct 3

How it swung

The turning point: Williams 3-yd TD run, Maryland leads 23-14 (Q2, 8:54). Nebraska went from 81% to 59% to win. Fans right then: “I hate the term defenseless player man. It’s football. That being said that was a penalty” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Nebraska an 88% chance, and the closing betting line (Nebraska was a 15.5-point favorite) put it at 89%.

Favored the whole way: Nebraska never fell below 50%.

Maryland never had better than a 50% chance.

Pick-six

Nebraska · Q2 2:4134 unanswered

Nebraska · Q2 0:05

FinalNebraska 48-23 MarylandNebraska wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q2 8:54Williams 3-yd TD run, Maryland leads 23-14Nebraska 81% → 59% (−22)
2Q2 2:41InterceptionWashington intercepted by McDougle at the Nebraska 19 and returned for a TD, cuts it to 23-21Nebraska 61% → 83% (+22)

The two plays that swung it

1Q2 8:54Williams 3-yd TD run, Maryland leads 23-14Maryland 19% → 41% (+22)
2Q2 2:41InterceptionWashington intercepted by McDougle at the Nebraska 19 and returned for a TD, cuts it to 23-21Maryland 39% → 17% (−22)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 7:00Nebraska commits kick catch interference on a punt, sparking outrage from fansI hate the term defenseless player man. It’s football. That being said that was a penaltyr/CFB game thread8/71 on penalties in one half lmaor/CFB game thread
Q2 4:05McDougle intercepts Washington for a touchdown as fans celebrate the defensive scoreWashington wants locksely fired. He’s committedr/CFB game threadIf it wasnt for defensive TD's this game would be out of hand.r/CFB game thread
Q2 0:25Fans react to excessive penalties as Nebraska scores to take halftime leadQuoted at the top of the page.This has to be a combined record for penalties in a half. This is ridiculous.r/CFB game thread

Nebraska’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Nebraska -15.5), at 90% for Nebraska (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Nebraska or Maryland flair (1,691 and 666); both sides share one scale, regulation only.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Nebraska’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Nebraska scored on 6 of its 14 drives; Maryland on 5 of its 16.

Nebraska’s drives are teal, Maryland’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Maryland’s side

Maryland’s best moment: Williams 3-yd TD run, Maryland leads 23-14 (Q2 8:54). It lifted Maryland’s win chance by 22 points.

How Maryland fans took it: “GL rest of season cornpeople” r/CFB game thread

“If it wasnt for defensive TD's this game would be out of hand.”

A Nebraska fan

How fans reacted

Quiet

Fans were loudest in the second quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was quiet; the crowd was busy.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Maryland fans

locksley“Thank you Nebraska for being one of our many stops on the Mike *Locksley* humiliation tour. You did not disappoint”

fired“Nobody is a chiller game thread opponent as a fan base that 100% wants the coach fired”

fire“Remember when everybody was saying we couldn’t fire locks bc then Malik would transfer. lol”

coach“Nice guy Matt Rhule giving Mike Locksley 30 additional seconds as head coach”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: half, now, refs, call.

What it cost

Nebraska’s chance to make the playoff rose from 18% to 20%.

Make the playoff

Maryland · lost0% → 0%

Nebraska · won18% → ▲20%

Win the conference

Maryland · lost0% → 0%

Nebraska · won7% → ▲8%

Before the game (October 2, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Nebraska 48, Maryland 23

Nebraska covered −15.5 by 9.5. The total, 71, went over 52.5.

Team totals	Maryland	Nebraska
Total yards	395	447
Passing	23 of 44, 254 yds	26 of 39, 238 yds
Rushing	25 for 141 yds	36 for 209 yds
First downs	19	28
Third down	1 of 14	6 of 13
Fourth down	1 of 2	0 of 1
Turnovers	2	1
Penalties	12 for 115 yds	16 for 132 yds
Time of possession	25:36	34:24

Maryland leaders

Passing Malik Washington 23 of 44, 254 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing DeJuan Williams 10 for 78 yds, 1 TD; Iverson Howard 3 for 34 yds
Receiving Chris Durr Jr. 7 for 149 yds, 1 TD; Kaleb Webb 4 for 53 yds

Nebraska leaders

Passing Anthony Colandrea 26 of 39, 238 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Anthony Colandrea 10 for 108 yds; Isaiah Mozee 8 for 46 yds
Receiving Kwazi Gilmer 11 for 147 yds, 2 TD; Isaiah Mozee 4 for 30 yds

No rain through the game

76° at kickoff · no rain recorded

October game-day temperatures at Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE)

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Second quarter, 2:41 left4:44 p.m.

Maryland 23, Nebraska 21 · Nebraska 83% to win

no rain · 78°

Washington intercepted by McDougle at the Nebraska 19 and returned for a TD, cuts it to 23-21

Measured at Lincoln airport, 3.1 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last 4 games

Maryland · 2-2

Rated 76th in our preseason ratings, 76th now.

2-2 in its last 4 — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 3-54 vs UCLATop 25 #36 of 668

lost by 51 as a 2.5-point underdog

L 26-35 vs Virginia Tech #40 of 668

lost by 9 as a 2.5-point underdog

W 38-14 @ UConn #116 of 668

won by 24 as an 11.5-point favorite

W 62-0 vs Hampton #265 of 668

won by 62 as a 45.5-point favorite

Last 4 games

Nebraska · 4-0

Rated 40th in our preseason ratings, 28th now, up 12 spots.

4 straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.

W 31-13 @ Michigan State #125 of 668

won by 18 as a 6-point favorite

W 34-7 vs North Dakota #110 of 668

won by 27 as a 27.5-point favorite

W 56-7 vs Bowling Green #135 of 668

won by 49 as a 30.5-point favorite

W 49-21 vs Ohio #48 of 668

won by 28 as a 23.5-point favorite

Week by week

Nebraska

Wk 1Wvs Ohio49-21
Wk 2Wvs Bowling Green56-7
Wk 3Wvs North Dakota34-7
Wk 4Wat Michigan State31-13

Maryland

Wk 1Wvs Hampton62-0
Wk 2Wat UConn38-14
Wk 3Lvs Virginia Tech26-35
Wk 4Lvs UCLA3-54

Power rating by week

Nebraska is rated 6.2 points ahead as of week 4. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Maryland’s passing EPA against Nebraska, 84 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Maryland’s passing EPA against Nebraska’s defense
Maryland offense, 8th percentile · Nebraska defense, 92nd
Maryland’s EPA/play against Nebraska’s defense
Maryland offense, 18th percentile · Nebraska defense, 78th
Nebraska’s explosive plays against Maryland’s defense
Nebraska offense, 93rd percentile · Maryland defense, 63rd

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

MarylandNebraska

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Nebraska leads the series 3-1

4 meetings since 2016 · Nebraska won the last meeting

2025Nebraska 34-31
2023Maryland 13-10
2019Nebraska 54-7
2016Nebraska 28-7

Each line is Nebraska’s chance to win through that meeting. Nebraska is 1-1 in the meetings since 2018 that were still close in the fourth quarter. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Nebraska fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (67th among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Nebraska favored by 15.5 · Total 52.5

How games like this usually go

Nebraska by 15.5, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 251 games since 2025 with a favorite of 14.5 to 21.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 3 points toward Nebraska.

The total fell 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Warm and dry. Feels like 77° at kickoff.

Maryland at Nebraska · Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 · Memorial Stadium, Lincoln

77°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
91weather score, Comfortable
Tiedfor the roughest of the day's 5 kickoff times

At kickoff, Oct. 3, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Kickoff times that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 5 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was tied for the roughest of the day's five kickoff times. At Memorial Stadium that day, a 6 pm or 6:45 pm kickoff would have scored 100, against 91 at 2:30 pm.

The roughest kickoff time is the lowest of the day's times. It can still be Mixed or Comfortable.

11 am: 96, Comfortable
2:30 pm: 91, Comfortable (this game)
3:15 pm: 93, Comfortable
6 pm: 100, Ideal
6:45 pm: 100, Ideal

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Oct. 3, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

Nebraska is worth +5.2 points (±3.9) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 69th percentile.

47% at home, 28% on the road against FBS opponents (24-27 home, 11-29 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.2 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±5.9 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 1,053 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Maryland 13, Nebraska 10Nov 11, 2023

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Nebraska5th1-0
Maryland14th0-1

Full Big Ten standings

Nebraska beats Maryland 48-23