Maryland allowed 14, 1st quarter points to Virginia but found another gear and sprinted past a pesky Cavaliers group in their 42-14 home victory over Virginia. Up next for the Terrapins is their Big Ten away opener with Michigan State.
Slow Starts the Norm in Bethesda This Season
Friday was the second consecutive game where Maryland was staring down an early, 14-point 1st-quarter deficit. Maryland Head Coach Mike Locksley told reporters after the game that;
“I think I have enough proof that we’re a team that’s built to overcome adversity, and I don’t think I need to see us down 14-0 anymore to know that we’re capable,” Locksley said. “Our defense did a tremendous job — shutout the last three quarters, getting the ball back to our offense with those turnovers.”
The Maryland defense picked off three fourth-quarter passes and recovered a fumble. Those four turnovers led to all four second-half Terrapins TDs.
Senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 342 yards and a TD. Tagovailoa told reporters how happy he was with how the offense responded after trailing 14-0.
“You see, when we get comfortable, everything’s just flowing smooth,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m happy that we caught our momentum going into the half.”
Michigan State Upended By Washington
Michigan State was staring at a 41-0 deficit before they finally found the end zone in a 41-7 home loss to Washington.
Huskies quarterback Michael Pennix Jr. threw for 473 yards with four scoring strikes to lead the Huskies. MSU acting head coach Harlon Barnett shared his thoughts about the game with reporters;
“Obviously, this wasn’t the game we thought we were going to see tonight,” said MSU acting head coach Harlon Barnett.“We must clean up missed tackles and substitutions errors; we will get those cleaned up and move on. We’re looking forward to starting Big Ten play – we still have all our goals in front of us, so that’s our mindset right now.”
Maryland vs. Michigan State Betting Analysis
Caesars MD opened the game with Maryland at -6.5, but that number has moved to -6 (-110) at Caesars. We don’t ever want to lay -2.5 or -6.5, and this line movement makes taking Maryland -6 (-110) much more tenable, and we will play Maryland -6 (-110) at Caesars as our best bet.
Caesars opened the total at 53.5 (-110), and that number hasn’t budged. We’ll likely leave that number alone and maybe look for the Over if the number moves below 53.5.
I like Maryland to cover the -6 points. The Terrapins are 1-2 ATS this season, but they’ve had to cover big numbers against Towson State and Charlotte, and their slow start against the 49ers had more to do with their ATS loss than anything else.
Tagovailoa and the offense match up well with a Spartans passing defense allowing 250 passing yards per game. The MSU rushing defense allows 125 yards per game, which should give the Terrapins fifth-best Big Ten rushing defense an edge Saturday.
The Spartans are 2-1, but they fired head coach Mel Farr last week, and the Spartans weren’t a good team against Washington. After scoring 75 points through their first two contests, the MSU offense sputtered, rushing for 53 yards on 27 attempts. Junior QB Noah Kim threw his first interception of the season and passed for 137 yards without a TD, and he’ll have it difficult Saturday against an above-average Maryland defense.
Finally, laying points on a conference road favorite is usually not a good idea. Still, MSU is reeling, the Terrapins are rolling, and Maryland has an extra day to prepare as they played last Friday. I like the Maryland defense, and the Terapins offense should cover the -6 (-110) at Caesars.
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