The Florida Atlantic Owls will visit the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon. The Terps are a heavy favorite going into this contest from College Park. Both teams have made changes to their coaching staffs that they hope will lead to a strong start to their seasons. Here, I break down this non-conference matchup and give you my Florida Atlantic vs Maryland prediction.
Our Florida Atlantic vs Maryland Pick
- Pick: FAU +14.5
- Confidence: 3/5
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Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Florida Atlantic vs Maryland
- Date & Time: Saturday, August 30, 2025, 12:00 PM ET
- Venue: SECU Stadium, College Park, MD
- Broadcast: BTN
Florida Atlantic vs Maryland Odds
| Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland −14.5 | Maryland −700 / FAU +450 | 60.5 |
Key Storylines
- Florida Atlantic enters under new leadership with first-year head coach Zach Kittley. He steps in after a disappointing 3-9 season last year under Tom Herman.
- Maryland returns with Mike Locksley and a new offensive coordinator in Pep Hamilton. The Terps went 4-8 last season and will look to turn their program around starting with this week.
- Kittley has spent time as the offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky and Texas Tech. He will look to spruce up the offense of the Owls from the start of this year.
Quarterback Play
FAU’s offense will feature Western Kentucky transfer Caden Veltkamp at quarterback. Veltkamp threw for over 3,000 yards a season ago and will attempt to help turn FAU into a high-octane offense. Maryland’s quarterback has not been named publicly yet. Justyn Martin, Kristian Martin, and Malik Washington are all in contention to get the starting job and we could see multiple QBs in this season opener.
Betting Trends & H2H
- Florida Atlantic has lost all of its last nine road games against non-conference opponents.
- Maryland is undefeated in its last 12 non-conference home games.
- FAU failed to cover in 5 of its last 6 games at the end of last season.
- This will be the first-ever matchup between FAU and Maryland on the football field. FAU opened their season against a different Big Ten opponent last year. They lost on the road against Michigan State in a defensive battle to start the 2024 season.
Florida Atlantic vs Maryland Model Projection
Score Projection: FAU 20 – Maryland 31
Win Probability: Florida Atlantic 20%, Maryland 80%
Final Thoughts
Maryland should be able to win this game at home to start their season on the right foot. But I’m not convinced that they will be able to cover the spread. FAU’s offense should be more explosive than we saw a season ago. Veltkamp is an upgrade at quarterback over last year’s starter Cam Fancher and I’ll take the points with the Owls in what should be an entertaining matchup from Maryland.
