Penn State vs. Maryland: Early point spread released on Nittany Lions, Terrapins
The Big Ten East remains crowed heading into Week 10 as Penn State and Maryland prepare to square off. The two teams had different outcomes in Week 9, and the oddsmakers in Las Vegas have released the early point spread.
Penn State opened as a 10.5-point road favorite over Maryland, according to FanDuel. The over-under is set at 51 for the game, which kicks off Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
The Nittany Lions had a tougher battle than expected against Indiana on Saturday, going back and forth with the Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. Ultimately, Penn State pulled off a victory after converting the biggest play of the season when Drew Allar found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for the go-ahead touchdown.
It wasn’t easy even though Penn State entered as a heavy favorite. That’s why James Franklin praised his team’s resiliency as it fought off the Hoosiers.
“We were resilient. You’ve got to give Indiana credit. They had a good plan and they played their tails off today,” Franklin told CBS’ Tiffany Blackmon after the game. “But we were resilient and found a way to get a win.”
During the game, Allar did something he hasn’t done in his college career. He threw an interception, snapping a streak of more than 300 snaps without a pick to start his career.
He responded by finding Lambert-Smith for the 57-yard touchdown pass to put Penn State on top. Franklin noted that answer and said while the interception wasn’t ideal, Allar’s ability to avoid turnovers is a big reason he’s had success in the Nittany Lions offense.
“He’s done a great job of managing the games, really has. Protecting the football all year long,” Franklin said of Allar. “Obviously, we’d love to have that one back, but at the end of the day, we found a way to get the W.”
As for Maryland, the Terrapins went in to Northwestern and were stunned by the Wildcats in a 33-27 loss. Taulia Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns as he completed 30 of 47 passes for 274 yards. He also had a fumble that helped set up a Northwestern touchdown and threw an interception that helped seal the game.
Maryland now finds itself in fifth place in the Big Ten East and is watching its hopes for a division title fade away amid struggles in conference play.
For the Wildcats, Brendan Sullivan completed 16 of 28 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the offense. The Wildcats now have a 4-4 record, including a 2-3 mark in Big Ten play, to try and keep pace in the jam-packed Big Ten West.