Michigan vs. Maryland Prediction
Can No. 21 Michigan handle covering another lofty spread on the road when the Wolverines travel to face Maryland today at 3:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Michigan is heavily favored in this game, as the Wolverines are getting odds of -17 points at Maryland. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 46.5 points. Michigan has won five of the last six meetings with Maryland and the Wolverines have covered in the last two meetings. The public is currently putting 71 percent of the wagers on Michigan on the road. Today’s game takes place from Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland. Saturday’s contest airs live on BTN.
Michigan is coming off a 33-10 win over Minnesota last week to improve to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are 3-5-1 against the spread this season, with just one cover in a true road game. The Michigan defense is allowing just 17.1 points and 245.3 yards per game this season while the offense is averaging 27.1 points and 380.6 yards per contest. Karan Higdon has exploded for 603 yards and eight touchdowns over his last four games and now has 804 yards on the year with 10 scores. His recent boom has really given Michigan a new confidence on offense. Ty Isaac is also a force in the backfield. He has 548 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Brandon Peters has taken over at QB recently. He has 184 passing yards with two touchdowns. Michigan hasn’t taken too many chances with him in the pass game.
Maryland is coming off a 31-24 loss at Rutgers last week to fall to 4-5 on the season and 2-4 in the Big Ten. The Terrapins are 4-5 against the spread on the season, but just 1-4 ATS in their last five games. Maryland is putting up 29.9 points and 337 yards per game this season but the team has been battling injuries at QB all season. Max Bortenschlager has thrown for 1,007 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the offense. He is dealing with a shoulder injury and may have to sit out this game. He is their third-string QB. Ty Johnson is the leading rusher with 703 yards and five scores. D.J. Moore has 59 receptions for 820 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, Maryland is allowing 36.3 points and 433.7 yards per contest.
Since turning to Peters Michigan has looked really good. The new QB has made the simple throws and avoided turnovers so far, which has been able to allow the run game to take it to another level. Defenses are having to start to respect the pass a little. Maryland is a mess of injuries on offense and could be down to a fourth-string QB today. That’s not going to turn out well against this U-M defense. I think Michigan cruises to a big win today.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTION: MICHIGAN -17