Maryland Football Predictions
Posted by Jimmy Boyd - Google+
It’s been a difficult first two seasons for head coach Randy Edsall. In his initial season at College Park, Edsall led Maryland to a dismal 2-10 campaign. Things look promising early in 2012, as the Terrapins jumped out to a 4-2 start, but injuries doomed this team down the stretch. Maryland lost four quarterbacks to season ending injuries, forcing true freshman linebacker Shawn Petty to play under center. As a result the Terrapins ended the season on a six-game losing streak to finish up at 4-8.
As you would expect with all the injuries at quarterback, Maryland finish last in the nation in total offense (285 ypg). Not only did they struggle to keep their signal caller healthy, but they also cycled through four running backs of the course of the year. Big improvements are expected to take place in 2013. Senior quarterback C.J. Brown is once again penciled in as the opening day starter. Brown didn’t play a single snap in 2012, as he tore his knee in a non-contact drill during an August practice.
What a lot of people overlook from last year is the fact that Maryland had the 21st ranked defense in the country, as they held opponents to just 337 ypg. That was really an impressive accomplishment given how much they were on the field. Unfortunately for the Terrapins they lose six starters, including five of the top eight tacklers. A big concern will be who will put pressure on the quarterback, as they must replace 23.5 sacks from the players lost.
Last Season
|
ACC (Atlantic)
|
Record
|
ATS Record
|
Over/Under
|
Points For
|
Points Against
|
|
5th
|
4-8
|
6-5-1
|
6-5
|
20.1
|
27.2
|
Key Numbers for 2013
|
Returning Starters
|
Returning to Offense
|
Returning to Defense
|
4 Year Recruiting Rank
|
Strength of Schedule
|
|
|
12
|
7
|
5
|
4.085
|
35th
|
67th
|
Head Coach Randy Edsall
|
Overall
|
ATS
|
Home
|
Home ATS
|
Road
|
Road ATS
|
|
79-85
|
81-61-4
|
51-35
|
39-27-3
|
25-47
|
39-31-1
|
|
Bowl Games
|
Bowl Games ATS
|
Off of a Bye
|
Off of a Bye ATS
|
Off of a Loss
|
Off of a Loss ATS
|
|
3-2
|
3-2
|
9-13
|
10-8-1
|
31-45
|
36-29-3
|
2013 Schedule
|
2013 Maryland Terrapins Schedule
|
|||
| Date | Opponent |
Spread (Est.)
|
Win Chance
|
| 8/31 | FIU |
-14
|
0.88
|
| 9/7 | Old Dominion |
-23
|
1
|
| 9/14 | @ Connecticut |
+3
|
0.44
|
| 9/21 | West Virginia* |
+2
|
0.44
|
| 10/5 | @ Florida State |
+20
|
0.00
|
| 10/12 | Virginia |
-3
|
0.56
|
| 10/19 | @ Wake Forest |
+3
|
0.44
|
| 10/26 | Clemson |
+10
|
0.23
|
| 11/9 | Syracuse |
-4.5
|
0.60
|
| 11/16 | @ Virginia Tech |
-15
|
0.00
|
| 11/23 | Boston College |
-4
|
0.57
|
| 11/30 | @ NC State |
+6
|
0.32
|
|
Estimated Wins: 5.48
|
|||
The Terrapins will have a decent shot at matching last year’s win total in their first four games of the season. They will be big home favorites against FIU and Old Dominion and are more than capable of getting a win at Connecticut and against West Virginia in a neutral site game at M&T Bank Stadium (home of the Baltimore Ravens).
Looking ahead to ACC play, Maryland likely won’t be able to pull off an upset on the road against Florida State or Virginia Tech and will likely fall at home against a very good Clemson team. The rest of the conference schedule are all very winnable games, as they catch a break by avoiding Miami, North Carolina and Georgia Tech out of the Coastal Division.
Road games against Wake Forest and NC State won’t be easy, but they figure to be favored in their three home games against Virginia, Syracuse and Boston College. There’s really not a lot that separates the bottom eight teams.
Odds
|
Regular Season Win Total
|
ACC Championship Odds
|
National Championship Odds
|
|
5.5
|
100 to 1
|
1,000 to 1
|
|
Odds Courtesty of Bovada
|
Season Predictions
Despite a miserable 6-18 record in his two seasons at Maryland, I’m confident that Edsall will get this program headed in the right direction. There’s plenty of reason to believe that the Terrapins would have been headed to a bowl game last year if Brown hadn’t got hurt before the season started. While it’s not out of the question that this team could win as many as 9-games, I think a more realistic goal is to get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2010.
In order for Maryland to reach the 6-win mark they are going to likely have to pull off an upset or two on the road. They only have six true home games this year and only five of them are games where they can go in with the expectation of getting a win. For that to happen Maryland is going to have to take a huge step forward offensively, as I’m not sure they will be able to rely on their defense like they did in 2012.
When it’s all said and done, I think Maryland will go 5-1 at home with the only loss coming to Clemson and get that win away from home against a depleted West Virginia team in non-conference action.
|
ACC (Atlantic)
|
ACC Record
|
Overall Record
|
Win Total Prediction
|
|
4th
|
3-5
|
6-6
|
Over (5.5)
|
Resources
More Predictions
| ACC | |||
| Atlantic | |||
| Boston College | Clemson | Florida State | Maryland |
| NC State | Syracuse | Wake Forest | |
| Coastal | |||
| Duke | Georgia Tech | Miami | North Carolina |
| Pittsburgh | Virginia | Virginia Tech | |
| Conferences | |||
| ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten |
| Conference USA | Independents | MAC | Mountain West |
| Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt | |
Leave a Reply