The Michigan State Spartans may have been blown out by Ohio State last week, but Mark Dantonio’s teams have always been known for their ability to bounce back. Michigan State still has a chance to win a share of the Big Ten East title provided Ohio State loses another game and Sparty wins out, and it will attempt to hold up its end up the bargain this week. The Spartans will take on the Maryland Terrapins at home.
This matchup in Week 12 of the regular season will take place on Saturday, November 18, 2017, at 4 p.m. ET at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This game will be broadcast on FOX.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Maryland +15.5
Michigan State -15.5
Over/Under 43
Odds Analysis
The spread in this one initially opened at 17, but has since dropped down a little bit. That’s because third-string quarterback Max Bortenschlager may be ready to play in this one.
Michigan State has been solid at home this season. The Spartans have gone 5-1 SU and 5-1 ATS in East Lansing with wins over solid programs like Western Michigan, Iowa, and Penn State. Dantonio will have this team amped up for this one after Maryland beat Michigan State by double digits last season.
The Terrapins were unable to build off of the momentum that DJ Durkin built after a better than expected first season that ended up with the Terps in a bowl game in 2016. Injuries have derailed this team’s hopes this season and at this point Maryland is just looking forward to getting healthy in the offseason and coming back strong in 2017.
Key Injury
For the second time this decade, Maryland has had an absolute nightmare scenario at the quarterback position. First- and second-string quarterbacks Tyrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill each tore their ACLs in the first few weeks of the season and that really crippled Maryland’s season.
To be fair, Bortenschlager has not been terrible. He actually led the Terps to wins over Minnesota and Indiana and put up some points on some of the other teams in this conference. At the end of the day though, he is still completing just 51.2 percent of his passes and is averaging under 5.9 yards per pass attempt.
Still, having Bortenschlager back would be a huge help. He was injured in the loss to Rutgers and was unable to play last week against Michigan with an upper-body injury that Durkin is keeping undisclosed. In his stead, walk-on Ryan Brand struggled, completing 15 of 36 for 136 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Wolverines.
Matchup to Watch
Durkin is a defensive genius, but his teams have struggled to stop the run this year. A lot of those struggles come from this team continually losing time of possession battles because it is unable to stay on the field.
The Terrapins are outside the top 100 in time of possession and while that doesn’t matter much to quick strike offenses like West Virginia, Arizona, and UCF, it does to a Maryland team that wants to hold on to the ball for as long as possible.
Michigan State does have a runner who can punish that in LJ Scott. Scott may be averaging only 4.3 yards per carry, but he is one of those running backs that you can pound into a defensive line and eventually wear them down. At 230 pounds, he is a battering ram, and will not succumb to arm tackles.
Free ATS Pick
Provided Bortenschlager does suit up, I like Maryland to cover the number here. He has been decent enough for the Terrapins and his return would provide a bit of a spark. Michigan State doesn’t blow teams out and the only team that it beat by more than 14 points this season was 2-9 Bowling Green.
College Football Odds: Michigan State 21, Maryland 13
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