jimmythegreek
The opening odds start here
Maryland -25.5 over Rutgers:
So if you think I’m severely licking my chops after that gift backdoor score by Arkansas last week against a can’t be stopped Alabama offense, you’re correct. After a good start, it was all downhill for the Terrapins (3-2 1-1) against then 12th ranked Michigan last week, as the Wolverines ran away in the second half for a 42-21 victory in Ann Arbor. Shea Patterson (19/27 282 3 TD 1 INT) rebounded after looking lethargic early and completed 2 of his scoring passes in the second half. Patterson hooked up with Ronnie Bell (2-24 1 TD) on a 22 yard TD toss just before halftime that gave Michigan a 17-7 lead into the locker room. Patterson then found Donovan Peeples Jones’ lone reception, a 34 yard feed in the end zone to extend the lead to 20 points after three quarters, and later capped it off with a 7 yard scoring toss to Jared Wrangler highlighting a 25 point second half. Brandon Watson extended the lead late with a 46 yard pick 6 with 4:00 remaining of Kasim Hill (5/10 62 1 INT). Karan Higdon (25-103 4.1) led a methodical ground game despite not finding the end zone, and the Wolverines defense took care of the rest yielding just 220 total yards for Maryland. In fact, Tyrell Pigrome (5-63 12.6 1 TD) and Javon Leake accounted for the only Terrapin offensive TD’s, both via the ground game, and Ty Johnson’s 98 yard first quarter kickoff return gave Maryland it’s only lead of the afternoon at 7-3 late in the first quarter. The Terps return back home to College Park this Saturday to take on Rutgers (1-5 0-3) whom since an opening seasonal win against Texas St has dropped 5 straight, including a 38-17 defeat at the hands of the Illinois Fighting Illini at High Point Solutions Stadium. Reggie Corbin (11-137 12.5 1 TD) and AJ Bush Jr (18-116 6.4 2 TD) led a Illinois rushing attack that gained 330 yards and 4 TD. The success of the ground game made things simple for Bush Jr (10/18 89 4.9 1 TD) who was especially dangerous running the option. Rutgers was sloppy turning the ball over 4 times including 3 picks by Artur Sitkowski (29/46 267 1 TD 3 INT). Despite showing ability to move the ball by completing passes, the miscues were clear drive killers. Jonathan Hillman (10-76 7.6 1 TD) ran for a 32 yard score to give the Scarlet Knigths their only lead of the afternoon at 7-3. Travis Vokolek (5-47 1 TD) caught a 7 yard TD pass from Sitkowski to pull Rutgers to within 24-14 at halftime, but all the Knights could muster was a chip shot field goal by Justin Davidowicz thereafter.
Maryland is not going to beat you through the air, as they throw the ball about 15% of the time and have the nation’s 10th most anemic passing offense in the country averaging just 128 yards per contest. Hill (47/86 578 3 TD 2 INT) usually plays it safe strictly underneath for efficiency purposes. Other than DJ Turner (13-159 1 TD) and Taivon Jacobs (13-137 1 TD), the receiving core is relatively thin, so expect to see plenty of option play and pitch calling for an offense that runs the ball to the tune of 236 yards per game overall, 20th in the nation. The Terps operate a three headed monster in their balanced backfield, led by Anthony McFarland (36-325 9.0 2 TD) who was limited to just 35 yards against a tough Michigan run defense last week. Ty Johnson (45-303 6.7 2 TD) has a couple of 100 yard games thus far, but only saw limited action last week. It has been an up and down roller coaster ride for Maryland thus far, after beating Texas in their opener only to fall to Temple in their first true home game. Rutgers pass defense has been fairly efficient thus far, but it seems like they can stop nobody against the run allowing 230 yards on average, 15th worst overall. Head coach Chris Ash clearly was not happy last week especially on a 73 yard score by Corbin that DE Kevin Wilkins failed to stay close with despite eluding downfield blocking. One void that will be tough to fill for the Scarlet Knights defense is the knee injury suffered by junior starting CB Blessuan Austin in the opener against Texas St. Freshmen Avery Young can learn as well from veteran Tre Avery, but the latter hasn’t been healthy thus far appearing in just 3 of 6 games also battling injuries.
It has been a nightmarish season thus far for Sitkoiwski (86/161 750 3 TD 11 INT) who is playing himself right into the doghouse. Turnovers, especially untimely picks have been the kryptonite that have killed promising drives. It’s not that Rutgers is missing personnel in it’s receiving core, as they possess a talented duo of Bo Melton (21-202) and Raheem Blackshear (25-142 1 TD) out of the flat, who despite finding themselves open haven’t been able to generate yardage after the catch. Like Maryland, Rutgers is methodical and doesn’t thrive on going up tempo against the opposition, but too many mistakes have led to unforced opportunities by their foes. Blackshear (78-362 4.6 2 TD) is the workhorse in the backfield but was held to just 34 yards against Illinois. Hillman (62-275 4.4 5 TD) is the secondary back who gets more opportunities deep in opponents territory and in the red zone. Going into the Michigan game, this Maryland defense was giving up only 20 points per contest. They need to show up without giving up big plays and most importantly, committing penalties that continue drives against them. The Terps shot themselves in the foot last week and rank 4th worst in the nation in penalty yardage. What made things worse is that Rayshad Lewis and Tre Watson, 2 primary backs in the defensive core, were ejected for targeting and will need to be more disciplined in the latter part of the second half against RU.
The Scarlet Knights don’t seem to have improved much from past years, as the offense isn’t producing much, there are constant turnovers and they’re being outscored by 29 points during this five-game losing streak. Maryland needs to continue their bread and butter by running the ball efficiently and not putting themselves in a late down and long situation which will initiate a passing conversion for Hill. Also, the defense needs to try and not to overplay stops because penalty yardage will only give Rutgers a fresh set of downs to work with. Look for Maryland to take out their frustrations on feeble Rutgers, extending their losing streak to 6 games on the season as we pass the halfway point.
I’ll have a second Saturday selection shortly.
So if you think I’m severely licking my chops after that gift backdoor score by Arkansas last week against a can’t be stopped Alabama offense, you’re correct. After a good start, it was all downhill for the Terrapins (3-2 1-1) against then 12th ranked Michigan last week, as the Wolverines ran away in the second half for a 42-21 victory in Ann Arbor. Shea Patterson (19/27 282 3 TD 1 INT) rebounded after looking lethargic early and completed 2 of his scoring passes in the second half. Patterson hooked up with Ronnie Bell (2-24 1 TD) on a 22 yard TD toss just before halftime that gave Michigan a 17-7 lead into the locker room. Patterson then found Donovan Peeples Jones’ lone reception, a 34 yard feed in the end zone to extend the lead to 20 points after three quarters, and later capped it off with a 7 yard scoring toss to Jared Wrangler highlighting a 25 point second half. Brandon Watson extended the lead late with a 46 yard pick 6 with 4:00 remaining of Kasim Hill (5/10 62 1 INT). Karan Higdon (25-103 4.1) led a methodical ground game despite not finding the end zone, and the Wolverines defense took care of the rest yielding just 220 total yards for Maryland. In fact, Tyrell Pigrome (5-63 12.6 1 TD) and Javon Leake accounted for the only Terrapin offensive TD’s, both via the ground game, and Ty Johnson’s 98 yard first quarter kickoff return gave Maryland it’s only lead of the afternoon at 7-3 late in the first quarter. The Terps return back home to College Park this Saturday to take on Rutgers (1-5 0-3) whom since an opening seasonal win against Texas St has dropped 5 straight, including a 38-17 defeat at the hands of the Illinois Fighting Illini at High Point Solutions Stadium. Reggie Corbin (11-137 12.5 1 TD) and AJ Bush Jr (18-116 6.4 2 TD) led a Illinois rushing attack that gained 330 yards and 4 TD. The success of the ground game made things simple for Bush Jr (10/18 89 4.9 1 TD) who was especially dangerous running the option. Rutgers was sloppy turning the ball over 4 times including 3 picks by Artur Sitkowski (29/46 267 1 TD 3 INT). Despite showing ability to move the ball by completing passes, the miscues were clear drive killers. Jonathan Hillman (10-76 7.6 1 TD) ran for a 32 yard score to give the Scarlet Knigths their only lead of the afternoon at 7-3. Travis Vokolek (5-47 1 TD) caught a 7 yard TD pass from Sitkowski to pull Rutgers to within 24-14 at halftime, but all the Knights could muster was a chip shot field goal by Justin Davidowicz thereafter.
Maryland is not going to beat you through the air, as they throw the ball about 15% of the time and have the nation’s 10th most anemic passing offense in the country averaging just 128 yards per contest. Hill (47/86 578 3 TD 2 INT) usually plays it safe strictly underneath for efficiency purposes. Other than DJ Turner (13-159 1 TD) and Taivon Jacobs (13-137 1 TD), the receiving core is relatively thin, so expect to see plenty of option play and pitch calling for an offense that runs the ball to the tune of 236 yards per game overall, 20th in the nation. The Terps operate a three headed monster in their balanced backfield, led by Anthony McFarland (36-325 9.0 2 TD) who was limited to just 35 yards against a tough Michigan run defense last week. Ty Johnson (45-303 6.7 2 TD) has a couple of 100 yard games thus far, but only saw limited action last week. It has been an up and down roller coaster ride for Maryland thus far, after beating Texas in their opener only to fall to Temple in their first true home game. Rutgers pass defense has been fairly efficient thus far, but it seems like they can stop nobody against the run allowing 230 yards on average, 15th worst overall. Head coach Chris Ash clearly was not happy last week especially on a 73 yard score by Corbin that DE Kevin Wilkins failed to stay close with despite eluding downfield blocking. One void that will be tough to fill for the Scarlet Knights defense is the knee injury suffered by junior starting CB Blessuan Austin in the opener against Texas St. Freshmen Avery Young can learn as well from veteran Tre Avery, but the latter hasn’t been healthy thus far appearing in just 3 of 6 games also battling injuries.
It has been a nightmarish season thus far for Sitkoiwski (86/161 750 3 TD 11 INT) who is playing himself right into the doghouse. Turnovers, especially untimely picks have been the kryptonite that have killed promising drives. It’s not that Rutgers is missing personnel in it’s receiving core, as they possess a talented duo of Bo Melton (21-202) and Raheem Blackshear (25-142 1 TD) out of the flat, who despite finding themselves open haven’t been able to generate yardage after the catch. Like Maryland, Rutgers is methodical and doesn’t thrive on going up tempo against the opposition, but too many mistakes have led to unforced opportunities by their foes. Blackshear (78-362 4.6 2 TD) is the workhorse in the backfield but was held to just 34 yards against Illinois. Hillman (62-275 4.4 5 TD) is the secondary back who gets more opportunities deep in opponents territory and in the red zone. Going into the Michigan game, this Maryland defense was giving up only 20 points per contest. They need to show up without giving up big plays and most importantly, committing penalties that continue drives against them. The Terps shot themselves in the foot last week and rank 4th worst in the nation in penalty yardage. What made things worse is that Rayshad Lewis and Tre Watson, 2 primary backs in the defensive core, were ejected for targeting and will need to be more disciplined in the latter part of the second half against RU.
The Scarlet Knights don’t seem to have improved much from past years, as the offense isn’t producing much, there are constant turnovers and they’re being outscored by 29 points during this five-game losing streak. Maryland needs to continue their bread and butter by running the ball efficiently and not putting themselves in a late down and long situation which will initiate a passing conversion for Hill. Also, the defense needs to try and not to overplay stops because penalty yardage will only give Rutgers a fresh set of downs to work with. Look for Maryland to take out their frustrations on feeble Rutgers, extending their losing streak to 6 games on the season as we pass the halfway point.
I’ll have a second Saturday selection shortly.