The third year for the Quick Lane Bowl gets underway December 26 when Boston College meets Maryland. You may remember this bowl as the Little Caesars Bowl but they are dust in the wind and now Quick Lane is the sponsor. The game is played at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and without two teams from the Midwest, I don’t see how this bowl will make it going forward. Nothing against BC or Maryland, but do you really think their fans are going to make the long trip to Detroit to watch .500 teams duel it out in a meaningless game. But the show must go on and we do have two even teams with diverse styles and it should be a great game.
Boston College Eagles 6-6 vs. Maryland Terrapins 6-6
December 26, 2016
Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan - 2:30 p.m., ET - ESPN2
Maryland got off to a 5-2 start, then lost their next four games to fall to 5-6 before rebounding in their regular season finale to reach six wins and become bowl eligible. Maryland was 3-9 last year and made a significant jump to 6-6 under first year head coach D.J. Durkin. The Terps were crushed by the Big 10 powerhouses Michigan and Ohio State but are getting better and showed that they aren’t the lame duck team they were the past five years.The Terps haven’t won a bowl since 2010.
Boston College took a different route to get to 6-6. The Eagles got off to horrid ACC start going 0-4 and had to win their final two games to be bowl eligible. Keep your eye on defensive end Harold Landry. He leads the nation in sacks with 15 and also has forced seven fumbles which also leads the nation. The Eagles will need Landry to be at his best to secure the Eagles their first bowl win since 2007.
ODDS ANALYSIS:
Opening Line: Maryland -1, Total 44.5
Current Line at BookMaker Sportsbook: Maryland -2
The Terrapins opened up as a 1-point favorite and slowly moved to the current line of -2. When I see two 6-6 teams the first thing I check are the strength of conferences. Both the Big 10 and ACC Conferences were top notch with a slight edge to the Big Ten.
Maryland was an over-valued OVER team. The Terrapins saw 8 of 12 games go UNDER the total. They were bad covering the spread as well, getting the money just four times in 12 tries.
With literally no offense to speak of, Boston College was an UNDER team from the start. The Eagles hit the UNDER 8 of 12 times.
The game total of 44.5 is one of the lowest on the board and gamers may be too quick to pull the trigger on the over.
THE PICK
Maryland was 3-9 last year and made a significant jump to 6-6 under first year head coach D.J. Durkin. The Terps were crushed by the Big 10 powerhouses Michigan and Ohio State but are getting better and showed that they aren’t the lame duck team they were the past five years. Durkin will have the Terps motivated and put a win on the board for the Big Ten Conference. Maryland wins 17-14 making the UNDER the play.
The College Football betting odds and props for this week’s games were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. Live wagering during commercials offers adjusted moneylines, totals and spreads. Log in and start gambling during the game now! The Boston College Eagles and Maryland Terrapins square off in the Quick Lane Bowl on Monday, December 26, 2016 at 2:30 p.m., ET. ESPN will televise the game live.
