Penn State football: Maryland Odds, Injury Report, and Predictions

Penn State football will head on the road for what should be a tough game in College Park against Maryland. The Nittany Lions will hope to put together a strong performance heading into Michigan in two weeks. The spread is closer than normal for this contest, and this could be one of the tougher games in this rivalry in recent memory. The Nittany Lions may also still have several key players out due to injury, which could impact this matchup. Penn State has failed to cover in consecutive weeks after covering every game in the first half of the season. Can Penn State get back on track and cover the betting odds this week?

Injury Report (Based on the previous week’s official Big Ten availability injury reports)

Penn State injury report:

Alonzo Ford, DT – Out for the Season

Smith Vilbert, DE – Out for the Season

Landon Tengwall, OL – Medical Retirement

Andrew Rappleyea, TE

Mason Stahl, QB

Chop Robinson, DE

Jim Fitzgerald, OL

Tyler Johnson, WR

Mehki Flowers, S

Elliot Washington II, CB

Tyler Holzworth, RB

Feyisayo Olueye, WR

Kaveion Keys, LB

Ian Harvie, OL

Liam Powers, OL

Harrison Wallace III, WR

Carmelo Taylor, WR

Mason Robinson, DE

Amin Vanover, DE

Maryland injury report:

Neeo Avery LB

Ryan Manning WR

Caleb Atogho DB

Billy Malloy OL

Kevin Kalonji OL

Tarheeb Still DB

Betting Odds:

Spread:

Penn State (-9) vs. Maryland

James Franklin’s Nittany Lions enter Saturday’s matchup as 9-point favorites. The line opened with Penn State as a 10.5-point favorite, but the odds quickly moved in the Terrapins’ favor. Penn State football is 6-2 ATS this season. Maryland is 3-5 ATS this season. Penn State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games against Maryland.

Penn State football Moneyline: -345

Placing a $345 bet on Penn State football to beat Maryland would pay $100 at the current odds. Penn State is 38-3-1 against Maryland since 1943, including an 18-1-1 record on the road. Penn State is currently on a two-game winning streak in the series. The last game in College Park resulted in a 31-14 Nittany Lion victory.

Penn State football vs. Maryland over/under: 51

The total has gone over in 5 of 8 games for Penn State to start the season, and it has gone over for 4 of Maryland’s 8 games this season. The total has gone under in the last 5 games between these two teams.

Penn State vs Maryland game predictions: (9-4)

This “rivalry” typically stays more off the field compared to what happens in the games. Penn State football has dominated against Maryland. The Nittany Lions have one lone loss in College Park, with that Maryland win coming back in 1961.

Maryland is the 4^th most-played opponent in Penn State football history. The two used to play regularly before the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten. The Terrapins do have two of their wins against James Franklin with a 20-19 win in State College in 2014 and a 35-19 during the 2020 COVID season.

This year, the matchup has lost a little bit of luster from where we were in September. At that time, Penn State was undefeated and ranked No. 7 in the nation, and Maryland was off to a 5-0 start. Since then, Maryland has lost three consecutive games to Ohio State, Illinois, and Northwestern, while Penn State has lost to Ohio State and escaped against Indiana.

There will still be a lot of Penn State football fans heading to College Park wearing white to disrupt the “Gold Out” that is planned. I see this as a game that is close early, with Penn State pulling away late. This one could be like what we saw in the 2021 edition, which was 14-14 heading into the 4^th quarter before Penn State ultimately won 31-14.

Take Penn State to cover the spread comfortably in this one, especially since the odds are under 10 points now. Carefully, I would recommend the over, but that will depend on how the Penn State offense responds and what the turnover situation is with the Penn State defense against a typically turnover-happy Taulia Tagovailoa.

Prediction: Penn State 38 – Maryland 14

Big Ten bet of the Week: (3-5)

Iowa vs Northwestern (U30.5), 3:30 p.m., Peacock

Make that two wins in a row for the Big Ten bet of the week after Nebraska covered last week. They say one is lucky, two is a fluke, and three is a streak. So this week will be a determining factor on whether or not I am back on my game.

Anytime you get a chance to bet the under on the lowest point total in college football history, and it has a chance to hit, you just have to do it. Give me the under this week in Iowa vs Northwestern at 30.5. The total opened at a record low of 29.5. I see this game finishing with a 10-3 final.

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