Sports betting site projects Penn State football as early underdog to Maryland

The Penn State football program is surrounded by sky-high expectations heading into the 2023 season. Nationally, the Nittany Lions are regarded as a team knocking on the door of College Football Playoff contention. A playoff berth would mark a new high for Penn State under the leadership of James Franklin. Most projections have Penn State listed as favorites over all but two opponents on its schedule. Those two are, of course, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines. However, one sports betting site recently released 2023 odds that project the Nittany Lions as underdogs to an unlikely challenger, the Maryland Terrapins.

Sports betting site projects Penn State football as slight underdog at Maryland

Penn State has had much success over most Big Ten East foes. Specifically, Maryland is a program that the Nittany Lions have strong-armed historically. Penn State boasts an astonishing 47-4-1 all-time record against the Terrapins. Maryland’s most recent win over Penn State came in 2020, a year when James Franklin’s squad jumped out to their worst-ever start to a season. The 2020 campaign is hard to forget because the COVID-19 pandemic kept fans from attending games, and conferences started playing games late in the fall.

This coming season, Maryland is looking to build off of a strong 9-4 campaign from 2022. Like the Nittany Lions, the Terrapin program is becoming steeped in preseason hype and expectations. Maryland is led by veteran quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, a top signal-caller in the Big Ten.

Recently, the Action Network released its early betting lines for the 2023 season. Surprisingly, the Action Network has Maryland projected as a 0.3-point favorite over the Nittany Lions for the November 4 matchup. Although just a projection, Penn State fans would certainly believe it to be a long shot based on roster construction and series history.

Number of games projected as favorite in 2023 via @_Collin1 power ratings:
 
12-Alabama, Georgia, Louisville, Michigan, Washington

11-Clemson, Florida State (FSU at Clemson is projected as a pick)

11-Liberty, UNC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Alabama, Texas, Toledo, Tulane,…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 5, 2023

Will the Nittany Lions continue its dominance over Maryland in 2023?

Penn State should field a top-ten caliber roster in the 2023 season. This year will potentially feature James Franklin’s strongest defense since arriving at Penn State. On the other side of the ball, a stout offensive line combined with the nightmarish running back tandem of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen will be tough for any opponent to keep in check.

While Maryland may prove to be a pesky challenger, Penn State should expect to take a win from this matchup. The Penn State defense, led by Manny Diaz, held the Terrapins to zero points in the 2022 outing at Beaver Stadium. An even stronger unit in 2023 could make for another tough day at the office for Taulia Tagovailoa & Co. It will be interesting to see what the official odds say when released closer to the matchup. For now, we can only speculate and discuss.

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