How and what to watch for Maryland vs. No. 12 Indiana

The Indiana Hoosiers had a chance to come away with the upset of the college football season last weekend, but they came up short. Now, they’ve got the Maryland Terrapins coming to town.

The Hoosiers came so close last week. They had a 28-point deficit in the third quarter, but ended up with the ball down one score twice in the fourth quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Had they pulled it off, Indiana would’ve been in the driver’s seat to win the Big Ten East and would probably have been the favorites to win the conference. But they fell short, and they’re matched up with a team that hasn’t played since Nov. 7.

Maryland canceled its last two games against Ohio State and Michigan State after a coronavirus outbreak within the program. Prior to the pause, the Terrapins were 2-1 with consecutive wins over Minnesota and Penn State. Mike Locksley appears to have this program going in the right direction in Year 2, though it’s a limited sample size. We might learn more about this Maryland team with how it performs on Saturday.

Indiana won the last two meetings between these teams including a 34-28 victory at Maryland in 2019.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Maryland vs. Indiana on Saturday, November 28th at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2, or you can stream it via the ESPN app with a cable or streaming service login.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Maryland vs. Indiana (-12)
Point Total: 64
Money line: Maryland (+310) vs. Indiana (-455)

• Indiana covered the spread in each of its last six games, while Maryland covered in three of its last four.
• Maryland is 2-9 straight up in its last 11 games on the road, while Indiana is 4-1 against the spread in its last five home games.
• The point total went under in four of Maryland’s last five games, and Indiana overs cashed in four of its last five.

Betting splits

Maryland: (27% of handle, 20% percent of bets)
Indiana: (73% of handle, 80% percent of bets)

The Best Bet

I don’t have the statistics for this, but it seems like teams who take multiple weeks off for coronavirus outbreaks come back and play really well in Game 1. Players are fresh and eager to get back out onto the field, and the coaching staff has likely been focusing on Indiana for a while, so Maryland should have an advantage in that regard. In addition, how likely are the Hoosiers to be fired up and ready to go against Maryland after having a chance to beat Ohio State? Indiana has nothing to play for at this point postseason-wise, so let’s go with the Terrapins in this spot.

Pick: Maryland +12

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