Foster Farms Bowl: Terrapins vs Cardinal
Bowl season in college football sees betting action between the Stanford Cardinal facing the Maryland Terrapins in the Foster Farms Bowl. Cappers Picks provides free college football handicapping tips all season long.
Entering this contest, Maryland is reeling from a close loss to Rutgers, 41-31.
College Football Odds
Maryland (7-5) vs. Stanford (7-5)
Tuesday, Dec. 30
2:00 PM ET
2014 Foster Farms Bowl
College Football Betting Lines: Stanford -14
College Football O/U: 47.5***2014 CFB BONUSES***
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Stanford, on the other hand, is riding high after a 31-10 victory over then-ranked No. 8 UCLA.
Maryland
Although travel isn’t the biggest factor to consider in bowl games because of the time between contests, Maryland has the unfortunate claim of making one of the longest treks across the nation.
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In order to reach Levi’s Stadium, the Terrapins are making a trip of nearly 2,900 miles into Stanford’s backyard: Santa Clara, Calif.
One of the biggest keys in this one will be whether or not Maryland can stop Stanford’s running game. The Cardinal’s rushing game won’t jump out at anyone as elite (they’re 74th in the nation in terms of rushing yards per contest), but it’s the ground game that opens up opportunities for quarterback Kevin Hogan.
In particular, it’s the ground game that opens up running opportunities for the QB.
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Can’t hammer it home enough: Stopping the run early will prevent Hogan from running rampant on a Terrapins defense that was just 100th in run defense this season.
Stanford
Stanford’s defense couldn’t be more opposite for Maryland’s. While the Terrapins were 97th in total yards allowed, the Cardinal were fifth. Maryland was also 80th in pass defense; Stanford was seventh.
Rushing yards? Glad you asked. The 100th-ranked Terrapins are going up against a Cardinal defense that was 11th.
And how about where it counts the most? That’s right: points.
Stanford was the second-best team in the nation this season when it came to points allowed.
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The team gave up just 16 points per contest, compared to 28.9 from the Terrapins — 83rd in the nation.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends:
- Over is 21-8 in MD last 29 games on grass.
- Over is 5-2-1 in MD last 8 non-conference games.
- Under is 7-1 in STAN last 8 games on grass.
- Under is 16-5 in STAN last 21 games overall.
- Under is 6-2 in STAN last 8 non-conference games.
Foster Farms Bowl
This one should be a low-scoring game. The question is, which program will squeak out a victory in such fashion?
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick Maryland +14
The Cardinal did not look like themselves this season. In fact, at 7-5, it’s safe to say that they slipped back in mediocrity despite their big win to close out the year.
Stanford should get a win straight up, but in a grind-it-out fashion, Maryland should keep it close.
If the spread were much closer, this would be debatable. But as two-touchdown underdogs, we’ll give Maryland the moral victory of coming out ahead ATS despite falling SU in this one.
Check out our Updated College Football Bowl Game Odds.
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