NCAA Football Previews- No. 18 West Virginia Mountaineers at Maryland Terrapins
The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Maryland Terrapins this upcoming Saturday afternoon in a Big East-ACC non-conference matchup at Byrd Stadium in College Park. Game time is set for 12 p.m. and it will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept.17 12 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, TN.
Broadcast: Byrd Stadium, College Park, MD.
Mountaineers at Terrapins lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Terrapins -1.5
Over/Under: 54.5
Click here for the ATS Gambling Report for this game!
West Virginia is off to a 2-0 start with relatively easy victories over Marshall and Norfolk State. The Mountaineers beat the Thundering Herd 34-13 in their opener but could not cover as 21.5-point home favorites. The total stayed ‘under’ the 52.5-point line. They then crunched the Spartans 55-12 at home, but once again came up short against the 44-point spread. This time the total easily went ‘over’ the 50.5-point line.
Quarterback Geno Smith is off to a fast start with 620 yards passing and six touchdown throws. He has completed 66.7 percent of his passes and is averaging nine yards an attempt. He has done a great at spreading the ball around with four different players having over 100 yards receiving led by Devon Brown’s 151 yards.
Maryland was idle last week, but started the season with a bang by knocking off Miami (FL) 32-24 as a four-point home favorite. The total went ‘over’ the 45-point line. While the Terrapins may have gotten the Hurricanes at less than full strength with a number of player suspensions due to off-field issues, it was still a solid win over a quality program. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The big story in this game was the play of Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brian. He played lights out with 31 completions on 44 attempts for 348 yards and one touchdown. The Terrapin defense also came up big led by defensive back Cameron Chism, who returned an interception 54 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
The Mountaineers have dominated this series in recent memory, winning the last five meetings straight-up and going 4-1 against the spread. Last season, they coasted to a 31-17 victory as 10-point home favorites with the total going ‘over’ the 45-point line. The last time these two met in College Park was back in 2007. West Virginia came away with a 31-14 win as a 15.5-road favorite and the total stayed well ‘under’ the 61-point line.
The best bet in this one could be the ‘over’ as both teams have the ability to move the ball up and down the field, but stick with West Virginia to come out on top in a shootout.
Betting Trends:
WVIRG are 7-2 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
WVIRG are 4-13 ATS in their last 17 vs. ACC.
Under is 6-2 in WVIRG last 8 non-conference games.
MD are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
Over is 6-1-1 in MD last 8 games overall.
MD are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games.
Favorite is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 meetings.
The Pick: West Virginia 34 vs. Maryland 31
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