The Maryland Terrapins visit Big Ten rival Northwestern Wildcats Saturday for both team’s season opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at Ryan Field. We analyze the Northwestern-Maryland college football betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Northwestern at Maryland: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 6:36 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Northwestern -435 (bet $435, win $100) | Maryland +330 (bet $100, win $330)
- Against the spread/ATS: Northwestern -12 (-110) | Maryland +12 (-110)
- Over/Under: 52.5 (O: -106 | U: -115)
Northwestern at Maryland: Three things to know
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Both teams are looking to put 2019 far in the rearview mirror as each finished with a 3-9 record. Northwestern (+5000) is tied for the ninth to win the Big Ten (BetMGM); Maryland (+8000) is tied with Illinois at the bottom of the conference.
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Maryland has the 90th-highest return of production while Northwestern is ranked No. 1 out of 130 charted FBS teams, according to ESPN.com.
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One of these teams is going to break an awful ATS trend Saturday: Northwestern is 0-7-1 ATS in its last eight games as a home favorite and Maryland is 1-6 ATS in its last seven games as a road underdog.
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Northwestern at Maryland: Odds, prediction, betting lines and picks
Prediction
Northwestern 27, Maryland 14
Money line (ML)
PASS ON THE MONEY LINE. I cannot find a reason to take a Maryland (+330) team that’s 2-17 straight-up as a road underdog with a minus-22.5 average margin of victory since 2015.
Also, Northwestern (-435) is 16-5 overall as a home favorite with a plus-13 margin of victory in that same time span. The obvious sticking point is risking more than four times your potential return on Northwestern handling business at home.
Against the spread (ATS)
NORTHWESTERN’S -12 (-110) quarterback play was abysmal in 2019: The Wildcats ranked last in the Big Ten in passing yards, QB rating and passing touchdowns.
But the Wildcats now have senior Indiana transfer QB Peyton Ramsey under center and new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian to improve their offense. Ramsey set an Indiana-record for completion percentage last year and is 2-1 against Maryland in his college career.
Maryland +12 (-110) is in a quarterback transition itself and head coach Mike Locksley is yet to name his starter. His options are redshirt freshman Lance LeGendre or Alabama sophomore transfer Taulia Tagovailoa.
The Wildcats’ weakness is generally offense, but the Terps gave up the most yards per game in the Big Ten last season and has four transfers starting on defense. Even if the new Terrapins defenders are good, there is no reason to be confident in Maryland’s scheme.
I “LEAN” NORTHWESTERN -12 (-110).
Over/Under (O/U)
Regardless of the new quarterback and offensive coordinator, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is a defense and run guy to his core. It might take a few games for the Wildcats to deviate much from that approach.
Also, the weather forecast projects double-digit crosswinds that could contribute to a more run-based offensive game plan from each side. BET UNDER 52.5 (-110).
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