The No. 17 Golden Gophers of Minnesota (-17) are set to welcome the Maryland Terrapins to TCF Bank Stadium. ESPN will broadcast the action and the game is scheduled to get going at 3:30 p.m. ET. When the two teams faced each other a year ago, Maryland won handily 42-13.
Betting Preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Maryland Terrapins
In this Saturday Big Ten game, Minnesota is getting picked as the big favorite and the team’s currently giving up 17 points. In order to take the home favorite, moneyline bettors would currently need to wager $1,200 to win $100 back on the Gophers (-1200). The Terrapins are getting +710 moneyline odds. If one program can find paydirt early it will create a nice betting opportunity in-game. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 55 points.
Early action has swayed toward the Gophers, as the line opened at -16. The over/under has not changed after it was initially posted at 55.
The Terrapins are 4-3 against the spread (ATS) and are down 4.3 units so far in 2019. The team’s posted an O/U record of 4-2-1.
The surprising Golden Gophers are up 6.0 units this season. They’re 4-2-1 ATS and have an O/U record of 4-3.
The perfect Terrapins are 3-4 straight up (SU), including 1-3 SU against conference opponents. The Golden Gophers are 7-0 SU overall and 4-0 SU in conference play.
The Terrapins hope to get back in stride after a 34-28 defeat to Indiana last week. Tyrrell Pigrome completed 17 passes for 210 yards, two scores and one interception. Javon Leake (158 yards on 23 rush attempts, two TDs) spearheaded the running attack. Dontay Demus Jr. (five receptions, 82 yards, one TD) and Chigoziem Okonkwo (five catches, 43 yards, one TD) shared the receiving duties in the defeat.
Minnesota just picked up a 42-7 win over Rutgers. The defense let the Scarlet Knights run for 141 yards on 40 rush attempts, along with one rushing TD. Isaih Pacheco was a bright spot in the defeat, posting 50 rushing yards on 15 attempts for Rutgers. For Minnesota, Tanner Morgan completed 15-of-28 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Rodney Smith (111 rushing yards on 19 attempts, two TDs) and Mohamed Ibrahim (62 yards on 15 carries, one TD) spearheaded the running game while Tyler Johnson (six receptions, 130 yards, one TD) and Rashod Bateman (four catches, 72 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack in the win.
Maryland has run the ball on 53.3 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Minnesota has an overall rush percentage of 67.9 percent. The Terrapins have rushed for 207.1 yards/game (including 154.5 per game against Big Ten opponents) and have 20 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Gophers are logging 187.9 rushing yards per game (236 in conference) and have 17 total rush TDs.
Judging by the results this season, it seems like the Terrapins should hold an edge in all aspects of the ground game. Their running backs has generated 5.5 yards per carry while their defense is allowing a YPC of 3.4 to opponents. The Golden Gophers have tallied 4.1 yards per carry and allowed a YPC of 3.6 to opponents.
The Terps offensive scheme has averaged 223.9 yards in the air overall (196.5 per game versus conference opposition) and has 13 passing scores so far. The Gophers have recorded 231.9 pass yards per outing (231 against Big 10 foes) and have 16 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Maryland has let opponents rush for an average of 126.1 yards and throw for 287.4 yards per game. The Minnesota D has allowed 171.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 122.9 yards per game to opposing runners. The Gophers are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.6 to opponents, while the Terrapins have allowed a 7.29 ANY/A.
Morgan probably has the edge over Pigrome in this matchup. The Golden Gophers man under center has an adjusted net yards per pass attempt 9.95 for the year and 10.56 across his past two games while Pigrome’s ANY/A is 6.75 and 4.36 over his last two.
Maryland Terrapins vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA Prediction
SU Winner: Minnesota, ATS Winner: Minnesota, O/U: Over
Betting Notes
- The Maryland defensive unit has 18 sacks on the year while Minnesota has 17.
- Minnesota has lost five fumbles this season while Maryland has lost two.
- The Terrapins offense has produced seven pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Golden Gophers have put up 10 such plays.
- The Maryland defense has allowed seven pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Minnesota has given up one such play.
- The Maryland offense has created 20 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Minnesota has created 11 such runs.
- The Terrapins defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Golden Gophers have given up six such runs.
- The O/U for Minnesota’s last match was 46. The over cashed in the 42-7 victory over Rutgers.
- In its last three matchups, Minnesota is 3-0 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- In its last three matches, Maryland is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- Maryland has lost five of its last six games SU, with a 41-point win over Rutgers on October 5th representing the only victory over that span.
- The O/U for Maryland’s last game going into it was 59. The over cashed in the team’s 34-28 defeat to Indiana.
- As a team, Maryland has produced 6.1 yards per carry across its past three contests and 5.7 over its last two.
- Minnesota has averaged 5.8 yards per carry over its last three games and 5.5 over its past two.
