The Big Ten highlights a major matchup this week as Penn St travels to Maryland Friday Night and Terps fans will be out in full force.
Penn State went out -6, and early action at sportsbooks has driven that spread up to an even touchdown on Monday; some flexibility with shops split on the spread which finds Penn State favored by 6-6½.
Nittany Lions 8-14 In Last 22 Big Ten Road Games
Both teams had a bye week in advance of this battle after neither side played up to its potential in Week 3. Penn State managed to beat Pitt, 20-17 but failed to cover the 17-point spread in the 100th game between the two rivals.
The Nittany Lions choked off the Panthers’ run game and made a huge defensive stop late when Pittsburgh had a first-&-goal at the PSU 1-yard line.
Maryland not only failed to cover a -5 spread on the college football odds at Temple, but the Terrapins also dropped a 20-17 decision at Temple. Again, it was a late goal-line stand that decided the contest with the Owls stopping Maryland on successive runs from the 1-yard line.
The Terps were coming off a 63-20 rout of Syracuse the previous week but were never able to establish their run game that produced more than 670 yards in the first two games.
Penn State might be without leading rusher Journey Brown who listed as questionable with a knee injury. The redshirt sophomore was forced from the win over Pitt after carrying the ball 10 times for 109 yards.
Terps Looking To Rebound Back into TOP 25
It’s just the sixth meeting between the two as conference foes, but the rivalry dates back than 100 years with the bulk of the 42 matchups played from 1960-1993. Penn State has dominated the rivalry by winning 39 to Maryland’s two, along with one tie.
The Nittany Lions have won the last four meetings and covered the last three. The Terrapins’ lone Big Ten victory came in the inaugural league matchup at State College in 2014, a 20-19 upset as field-goal underdogs.