CFB Football Previews – Temple Owls vs Maryland Terrapins
The general feeling about Maryland is that the Terrapins are a “good” 1-1, as they took down Miami in Week 1 and gave West Virginia a tough run in Week 2. If Maryland wants to push Florida State for the ACC crown, though, it has to start a winning streak over its next few games. Can the Terps handle Temple at home this week?
NCAAF Week 4: Temple vs Maryland
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011
Venue: Byrd Stadium, College Park, Maryland
Broadcast: ACC Network/ESPN3
Temple Owls at Maryland Terrapins Betting Lines from 5Dimes.com
Money Line: Temple +275, Maryland -335
Spread: Maryland -9
Over/Under: 51.5
Temple Owls (2-1)
Temple raised some eyebrows with its performance last week, in which it almost beat Penn State to go 3-0 on the year. The Owls actually led for most of the game before Penn State broke their hearts with a touchdown run in the dying minutes.
This Temple “D” has teeth. Obviously, it hasn’t faced stiff competition so far, but it’s 8.0 points allowed per game is nonetheless impressive. For Temple to really challenge for the MAC title, though, it needs a better passing game. Coach Steve Addazio benched Mike Gerardi for Chester Stewart partly through the game after the Owls’ offense stalled. That didn’t work, so he brought Gerardi back in. Gerardi threw two costly picks.
Temple may be better off abandoning its weak passing attack for the run. Bernard Pierce got stuffed last week by Penn State but put up some big numbers over the Owls’ first two games.
Maryland Terrapins (1-1)
Sure, Maryland’s defense had no answer for Geno Smith in a Week-2 loss to West Virginia. But the Terps weren’t expected to be stingy this season. The key to them being an ACC sleeper was their offense. For the most part, it’s delivered so far this season.
Danny O’Brien was great in Week 1 under center in a win over Miami. In Week 2, he threw three costly interceptions, but Davin Meggett and D.J. Adams picked up the slack in the running game. As long as some part of Maryland’s offense is working, the Terps will be effective point-scorers. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The pick:
This isn’t an easy pick. On one hand ,Maryland’s high-octane offense is more potent than anything Temple has faced so far this season. On the other, the Terps “D” could make Temple look good.
For this bet, I’ll stick with what I know. We have a strong sense of Maryland’s strengths and weaknesses. With Temple, we don’t know if the Owls are for real. Is their defense that dominant or has it just faced supbar offenses? Is its offense that bad or has it faced great defenses?
Maryland should be motivated to give a more consistent effort after falling behind early to West Virginia at home in Week 2. It won’t be a blowout but I think the Terps’ offense will prevail.
Temple vs Maryland prediction: Maryland 28, Temple 17
Money Line: Maryland -335
Spread: Maryland -9
Over/Under: UNDER 51.5
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