The Terps will turtle crawl to Morgantown to face the #7 Mountaineers midday saturday. Can Maryland hold off the speed of West Virginia to have a shot at covering the spread? Or will Geno Smith and the Mountaineers just fly on by?
“No. 7 West Virginia to cash as home
‘chalk’ vs Maryland”
The No. 7 West
Virginia Mountaineers have notched two straight blowout victories to start
their season, crushing Marshall and James Madison en route to a 1-1 spread
record. Saturday afternoon’s early slate
has Dana Holgorsen’s squad hosting the Maryland Terrapins, who have seen the
OVER collect at 2-0 in their latest pair of matchups.
Sports books
opened West Virginia as a 27-point favorite, with early action on the
Mountaineers driving the number north to 28.
Betting shops first listed a ‘total’ of 60 ½, while lifting the digits
as high as 63 1/3 after initial wagers favored the OVER.
Mountaineers, Smith bury JMU
West
Virginia’s latest triumph came in last Saturday’s 42-12 victory against the
James Madison Dukes, landing just shy of cashing tickets as a 35-point favorite
at FedEx Field. The Mountaineers got off
to a 28-0 lead by the second quarter, while finishing with 569 total yards.
Mountaineers
quarterback Geno Smith tossed five touchdowns, finding wide out Stedman Bailey
for three of the team’s scores. WVU
moved the chains for 28 first downs in its 24 minutes of possession, with Smith
completing 34-of-39 passes.
West
Virginia’s defense held JMU to 300 yards, with 112 coming through the air. Mountaineers linebacker Tyler Anderson
grabbed his side’s sole interception, while he and his mates allowed the Dukes
to convert 6-of-19 third downs.
Terps fall short at home
Maryland
trailed throughout its 24-21 defeat last weekend against the Connecticut
Huskies, missing the ATS cover by a ‘hook’ as a 2 ½-point home dog. Terrapins quarterback Perry Hills connected
just 10-of-24 passes, while his backfield was held to 96 yards rushing (2.4
YPR).
Maryland’s
Stefon Diggs and Marcus Leak logged three catches each, uniting for 92
receiving yards. Diggs caught a 29-yard
touchdown strike from Hills, who also dashed for the battle’s final score from
10 yards out.
The Terrapins
gave up a 58-yard punt return for Connecticut’s first touchdown, while the
team’s defense held the Huskies to 10 first downs. Both squads combined for 21 points in the
fourth quarter, which lifted the matchup OVER the ‘total’ of 45.
Back WVU at home
Saturday’s
kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. (ET).
The early weather forecast for Morgantown calls for a 66 degree
afternoon, with light winds.
I am adding
West Virginia to my college football picks for the day’s action, looking for
Smith and Co. to roll as heavy home ‘chalk.’
WVU’s offense
has piled up 612 YPG, ranking third in the nation, including a stellar 386 YPG
in passing. Smith should continue
controlling the tempo under center, keeping the octane high at home here and
look to put this battle away by halftime.
Maryland has
begun its season with a trio of tight affairs, while nearly defeating West
Virginia last season in a 37-31 home defeat.
The step up in class this week should be too much for Randy Edsall’s
squad to keep up with, having not faced this kind of passing attack yet this
year.
The
Mountaineers will be looking to pile on the points here before Big 12
Conference play starts next week against the Baylor Bears. WVU is 5-0 ATS in its last five meetings with
Maryland, while cashing at 12-5 in its last 17 duels against foes with winning
records.
Look for West Virginia to cover the big
number here, handing Maryland another losing ticket in its 1-5 ATS mark over
the team’s last six non-conference spots.
Free College Fottball Pick: The Mountaineers
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