The Maryland Terrapins look to build on their season opening success. To do so, they’ll have to go on the road as they face the Florida International Golden Panthers Friday night. The game kicks off at 7:30 pm ET from FIU Stadium in Miami, Florida. National television coverage is provided for the contest by the CBS Sports Network. The current odds for the contest have Maryland favored by 10.5 points with the over/under set at 56.5 points.
Maryland opened up their 2016 slate with a 52-13 destruction of FCS program Howard last Saturday. Florida International battled but came up a 34-13 loser at home to another Big Ten program in Indiana last Thursday. These schools have met four times previously, with Maryland winning each of the contests. The Terrapins took a 43-10 triumph in the last meeting, which came back in 2013.
To get a look at what we’re thinking about the rest of the week 2 schedule, check here!
Maryland jumped to a 21-0 lead and coasted against an overmatched FCS program. While that made a winner of DJ Durkin in his debut as head coach, it hardly was inspiring in the grand scheme of things. The Big Ten doesn’t offer up too many cupcake opponents. Maryland ran for 315 yards in the game and averaged 7.2 yards per carry in the contest. They found the end zone six times on the ground. Lorenzo Harrison (nine carries, 67 yards), Jake Funk (eight carries, 59 yards), Tyrrell Pigrome (seven carries, 53 yards), Trey Edmunds (six carries, 48 yards), Ty Johnson (six carries, 48 yards) and Kenneth Goins Jr. (four carries, 40 yards) each hit paydirt. Edmunds ran back a blocked punt for a score as well.
Perry Hills hit 14 of 19 passes for 126 yards in the game. Pigrome was four of six for 60 yards and Max Bortenschlager was 2 of 4 for 18 yards. Most importantly for the Terrapins is that they didn’t throw an interception in their 29 pass attempts. That was telling after throwing a FBS high 29 on 387 attempts last season. DeAndre Lane led the Terrapins with five grabs for 73 yards. Maryland outgained Howard 519-269 in the game and won the first down battle 25-15. One negative for the Terrapins was they failed to force a turnover. That is something they need to work on defensively.
Florida International was right in the mix in their opener against Indiana. The Golden Panthers led 13-12 after three quarters before getting outscored 22-0 in the final 15 minutes. Three turnovers did in Florida International: Indiana returned two interceptions for scores and added a safety. That meant the Golden Panthers’ offense directly handed the Hoosiers 16 points in the game. Florida International isn’t a good enough team to overcome those kinds of gifts.
Alex McGough hit 23 of 46 passes for 263 yards but had three interceptions. The Golden Panthers had their run game bottled up as well: Alex Gardner was held to 23 yards and a score on 10 carries. All told, Florida International ran the ball 21 times for 63 yards. The Golden Panthers have to be more balanced offensively to have success. Jonnu Smith led Florida International with eight catches for 83 yards while Gardner showed his versatility with seven catches for 70 yards out of the backfield. Stantley Thomas had three catches for a team leading 91 yards.
As good as Maryland looked, it’s important to note that it was against a FCS program. Florida International, despite the final score, had the Hoosiers sweating into the fourth quarter before fading. Maryland has to prove that they can beat FBS teams in order to inspire confidence. Playing on the road was a challenge last season and may continue to be this year.
Florida International is 3-1-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five after allowing at least 450 yards of offense. Maryland is 1-12 ATS in their last 13 after a straight up win, 0-4 ATS in their last four after scoring at least 40 points and 0-7 ATS in their last seven after allowing less than 20 points.