It could be a bit of a trap game for No. 8 Michigan on Saturday in Big Ten action as the Wolverines visit struggling Maryland. Which way to lean at BMR’s best online sportsbooks? Read on for some betting advice so that you make the right college football pick.
Michigan Wolverines vs. Maryland Terrapins
Saturday, November 20, 2021 – 03:30 PM EST at Maryland Stadium
The Big Ten Network has this matchup between the AP No. 8 Wolverines and unranked Terrapins. It’s Maryland’s home finale and the road finale for Michigan.
The Terps are pretty new to the Big Ten so these schools don’t have a ton of history. U-M leads the series 8-1-0 and is 7-0 when it is ranked and Maryland isn’t. They didn’t play last year as it was one of three Michigan games canceled due to the pandemic.
The Wolverines have won the past five in the series, all by at least 21 points. They are 5-0 against the spread on the college football odds.
Wolverines Could Be Looking Ahead
Why could this be a trap game for Michigan (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten)? Because Jim Harbaugh’s team comes off a very hard-fought win at Penn State on Saturday to keep its Big Ten title and College Football Playoff hopes alive and also because U-M’s players will surely be looking ahead to next Saturday’s home finale against hated rival Ohio State.
The Wolverines won at Penn State 21-17 – a loss would have ended their chances of winning the Big Ten East. Erick All caught the game-winning 47-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNamara with 3:29 left. It was the first career TD catch for All, a junior tight end.
McNamara threw three TD passes overall, the first two to Roman Wilson – his first two of the year. McNamara also didn’t turn the ball over. Running back Hassan Haskins had his fourth 100-yard rushing game in the last five weeks with 156 yards on 31 carries. Haskins and Blake Corum usually share carries, but Corum missed the game injured. Too early to say if he can play Saturday.
The best player on Michigan and maybe the Big Ten and maybe even the country is defensive end, Aidan Hutchinson. He had three sacks, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble vs. the Nittany Lions and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. He and teammate David Ojabo, who had two sacks, lead the Big Ten with 10 sacks each.
They are the first pair in U-M history to both reach double-digit sacks (10.0 each) in the same season. Pro Football Focus grades Hutchinson as the best defensive player in the country and he should be a Heisman finalist but probably won’t be. Michigan is 5-1 against the spread on the NCAAF odds in its past six Big Ten games.
Terps Eye Bowl Eligibility
Maryland (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) needs one more victory to get the bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. If it doesn’t come here, it would have to be on Nov. 27 at Rutgers, which is much more likely.
The Terps were beaten 40-21 at No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa set a school record with his sixth game this season with more than 300 passing yards as he threw for 350 in the loss with two TDs, both to Chigoziem Okonkwo. Tua’s little brother has 1,140 passing yards in his last three games and is the third passer in Maryland history to throw for 3,000 yards in a single season.
In only 14 games as a Terp including dating to last year, Tagovailoa already is ninth all-time in career passing touchdowns with 27, only one behind Sam Hollenbach (28 from 2003-06). Okonkwo had eight catches for a career-high 112 yards, the most by a Terps tight end since Vernon Davis in 2005. Okonkwo wasn’t a big part of the offense early in the season, but he has developed something with Tagovailoa.
The Terps can score and move the ball but they stink on defense sometimes. They do have a terrific cornerback in Jakorian Bennett, who leads the country with 13 pass breakups. Maryland ranks 23rd in the country and fourth in the Big Ten with 26 sacks through nine games, an average of 2.89 per game. The 26 sacks are the school’s most through nine games since having 32 in 2015.
Simulations I have run have Michigan winning by 17 points so we will give the 14.5. The Terps are 0-6 ATS in their past six games.
NCAAF Pick: Michigan -14.5 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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