3. Maryland at Charlotte
LINE Maryland -27.5
ATS PICK Maryland
It’s always scary to pick teams in Week 2 – you don’t want to read too much into Week 1. There aren’t any preseason games, teams are still trying to get the timing and depth charts right, and things change in a hurry.
However, if you have two games of work to go off of, things start to change.
Just how bad is Charlotte?
It’s got experience, decent Conference USA talent, and it has a solid head coach in Will Healy. However, it opened the season by getting destroyed by Florida Atlantic 43-13.
Last week Willie Taggart’s Owls lost to Ohio 41-38.
The 49ers went back home for a breather against William & Mary to get ready for what was coming next, and they left Jerry Richardson Stadium a 31-17 loser to an FCS team.
There weren’t any turnovers. There wasn’t anything funky. Charlotte was just bad.
Yeah, it’s Maryland, and there’s always the ultra-flake factor to consider.
The 2019 team looked like a world-beater after obliterating Syracuse 63-20 and starting the season 2-0 by a score of 142-20. And then it went on the road and lost to Temple.
The 2018 team shocked Texas, hung 45 on Bowling Green, and then … lost to Temple.
Last year’s team started 4-0 before losing six of its next seven games.
It will be okay.
If Maryland shows up and does what it’s capable of, it might put 65 up on the 49er D.
It’s going to run for 250, pass for about 300, and it’ll win easily. Take the chance that if Florida Atlantic could win by 30, the Big Ten team can, too.
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