by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Sep 19, 2022
Game time: Noon ET
Venue: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
Where to watch: FOX
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Check back later
FanDuel: Michigan -16.5
BetMGM: Check back later
Caesars: Check back later
Season record
Maryland: 3-0
No. 4 Michigan: 3-0
We are about to get rolling into conference season in college football. This is where the fun truly begins. And if you're trying to find the right expert handicappers to get you the right picks for those games, look no further than Kyle Hunter on a 15-5-1 run since the beginning of the season. What will next week hold? Make sure to check out Kyle's thoughts on our Best Bets page, where you can get a look at the rest of our champion handicappers and get in on the action!
Maryland - Michigan preview, analysis and prediction
Last week
Maryland: won 34-27 vs. SMU
Michigan: won 59-0 vs. UConn
Here’s one thing we can decipher about the Michigan Wolverines that goes without question. This group is better than UConn, Colorado State and Hawaii. If there was ever any doubt that Michigan could be the best team in the Mountain West Conference, those fears were eradicated. Give Jim Harbaugh the Mountain West’s Coach of the Year now.
Here’s one thing we can decipher about the Michigan Wolverines that goes without question. This group is better than UConn, Colorado State and Hawaii. If there was ever any doubt that Michigan could be the best team in the Mountain West Conference, those fears were eradicated. Give Jim Harbaugh the Mountain West’s Coach of the Year now.
In short, we know Michigan is good and they’re absolutely going to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. And as the Wolverines enter Big Ten play against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines have certainly gotten cozy at home as they’re about to play their fourth straight home game to open the season.
The Auburn Tigers are going through a similar start with four straight home games, but unlike Auburn, Michigan didn’t get run out of their own stadium by Penn State. If Michigan got ran out the building by UConn, Harbaugh might not have made it out of the stadium. But alas, Michigan won 59-0 and eclipsed 50 points in a game for the third straight week.
J.J. McCarthy went 15 of 18 for 214 yards in this ongoing quarterback battle with Cade McNamara, but the bulk of the scoring came on the ground. Blake Corum ran the ball 12 times for 71 yards and scored five touchdowns, because that’s what we call efficiency in the game of football.
"I don't know how good we are," Corum said. "We look good. I feel like we're going to be great, but I can't tell yet. I can tell from the look of things, the sky is the limit for this offense."
Even the offensive side of things is a question mark given who the Wolverines faced. The sky might be the limit, but I refuse to believe that the quarterback battle is over. McCarthy was efficient, but McNamara is still the one that led this group to a Big Ten title last year. As the competition revs up, we’ll find out soon how long the leash really is for McCarthy.
"My mind isn't racing anymore," the sophomore said. "Everything's just slowing down. That's something that has changed from last year to this year."
At the very least, McCarthy will get some run after McNamara got hurt late in the second half. Harbaugh said he is likely to miss the next few weeks, which may at least end the competition by default for a little bit.
Maryland is going to be the toughest opponent Michigan has faced this year, and it’s not even close. But the Terps’ 3-0 start to the year is aided by coming off a surprising 34-27 home win over SMU this past weekend. Taulia Tagovailoa threw two touchdowns, and Roman Hemby ran for 151 yards and a touchdown.
Despite 15 penalties, the Terps are 3-0 and maybe the potential is finally reached. But to have 15 penalties and to still beat a tough SMU team at home is a pretty fair accomplishment.
"We did not play our best football today. Let's make no mistake about it. A lot of errors, a lot of penalties, a lot of turnovers," Maryland coach Michael Locksley said. "But it was against a really, really good team. ... To find a way to win, we needed a game like that."
Prediction
Maryland is going to need to play better, and rely on its defense, to win this game. Michigan’s defense is going to carry the offensive deficiencies for a bit, and that might be the reason why I lean toward Michigan covering that two-touchdown-plus spread. Michigan by 20
Betting trends
Maryland is 3-11 ATS in its last 14 against conference opponents.
Maryland is 3-6 ATS in its last nine road games.
Maryland is 16-36 ATS in its last 52 following an ATS win.
Michigan is 5-0 ATS in its last five conference games.
Michigan is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 home games.
Michigan is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 against a team with a winning record.
Statistical leaders
Maryland:
Passing: Taulia Tagovailoa -- 895 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Roman Hemby -- 295 yards, 3 TD
Receiving: Rakim Jarrett -- 196 yards, 1 TD
Michigan:
Passing: J.J. McCarthy -- 473 yards, 3 TD
Rushing: Blake Corum -- 235 yards, 7 TD
Receiving: Ronnie Bell -- 181 yards, 1 TD
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
