No. 2 Ohio State vs. Maryland November 19 Betting Preview

The Ohio State Buckeyes will take their talents on the road to Maryland to face the Terrapins on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Buckeyes held their No. 2 rank in the AP Top 25 Polls this past week after taking down the Indiana Hoosiers by a score of 56-14. 

This gave the Buckeyes their tenth win of the season overall, and are tied at the top of the Big Ten East with their rival in the Michigan Wolverines.

Maryland, on the other hand, is only 6-4 overall this season and 3-4 in conference play. They were shut out against Penn State in a 30-0 game last weekend. The Terrapins were only able to muster up 134 total yards last game while giving up 413 yards to the Nittany Lions, who piled on the points from the start.

Let’s look ahead at the matchup this upcoming weekend between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Maryland Terrapins.

Odds

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the heavy favorites as expected, against an outmatched Maryland team. The line is set at 27.5 with odds of (-112) in the favor of Ohio State and (-109) for Maryland to cover the 27.5-point difference. The over/under for the game is set at 65 points with odds of (-107) and (-114) to bet the over and under, respectively.

Keys To The Game

For the Buckeyes, this is a big tune-up game before their biggest test of the season. Michigan got the best of them last year, but their eyes are set on the playoffs, and they need this game against Maryland as their last prep before the game that will decide their fate on whether they will make it to the Big Ten Championship or not.

CJ Stroud is the leader in the Heisman race, and this team performs primarily based on the numbers he is putting up. Stroud ranks first in QBR and touchdowns this season. He also ranks 18th in total yards and 20th in least number of interceptions thrown this season.

Maryland’s realistic goal is simple: do everything you can to disrupt the Ohio State offense and try to cover the 27.5-point spread. 

No one is thinking that Maryland can win this game, and they are right. Ohio State will not allow themselves to slip by Maryland to keep this game close.

Taulia Tagovailoa leads the team as the quarterback as he has thrown for 2,152 yards on the season with 14 touchdowns and a QBR of 66.7. Running back Roman Hemby will be a key to the Terrapins offense to try to extend drives and bleed more time off of the clock. He is averaging 6.1 yards per rush this season with seven touchdowns.

Expected Outcome

I expect the Buckeyes to win this game and probably cover the spread as well. A betting play I like more is the over because I think that Maryland will be able to score some points at home, but the Buckeyes will score much more than Penn State did in their 30-point effort last weekend.