Purdue at Maryland - Predictions
Alright ladies and gents. It's that time of the week again where I try to predict and give a little preview of the game to come. This weekend, the Boilermakers travel to College Park, MD for the first time ever.
Purdue and Maryland have only ever played once. This was in the Champs Sports Bowl in 2006 which resulted in a 24-7 Terrapin win. Needless to say, a lot has changed in 10 years. The Boilers are no longer 8-5 but neither are the Terps. Both teams look like shells of what they used to. However, under new coach DJ Durkin, the Terps have been trending upwards this year. So far, the Terps are 3-0 with victories over football powerhouses such as Howard, FIU, and UCF. While Maryland remains unproven, our Boilers remain in the same spot, getting embarrassed by the only real FBS team we've played. Let's take a look at the numbers.
The Terps have a fairly balanced attack with both an equally powerful air raid and running attack. So far, they have averaged 41 points per game, averaging 456.3 yards per game. Senior QB Perry Hills is 37-60 with 463 yards and 3 TDs. Those are weak numbers compared to Blough's 946 yards and 5 TDs. (shhhhhhh no one talk about the 7 INT vs. 0 INT).
For the betting inclined Boilers, ESPN's FPI has Maryland with a 73.7% chance. Their odds have actually decreased by 0.2% over the week, possibly due to the loss of one of their starting DBs to an ACL injury. Luckily for us, they get their number 1 RB back from suspension this week, his second suspension of his college career.
OH AND HERE'S ANOTHER THING. Maryland's kicker is a 28 year-old high school drop out who has been suspended for PEDs before. COOL.
Back to the numbers.
The spread is at -11 in favor of Maryland and the Over/Under is at 56. Personally, I would take the over.
Overall, I still think this is a winnable game. Maryland was very bad last year, only barely edging out Rutgers as the worst Big Ten East team. Yes, I know things change year to year, but I still think they have a ways to go before they are competing for the middle/upper middle of the B1G East. This game will be decided by turnovers and defensive stops. If the run D is back from last week, we will absolutely win this game. If we turn the ball over 3 times in the red zone like last week, we will absolutely lose this game. Should be interesting to say the least.
Prediction: Purdue 35 - Maryland 31
