Maryland football: Terrapins open as slight favorites against Iowa for homecoming game

The Maryland football team opens the week of its homecoming game as a slight favorite over Iowa. In early odds released by Vegas Insider, the Terrapins are a 3.5-point favorite against Iowa. Early lines have varied, but all have given them between a 2.5- and 3.5-point edge.

The Terps (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) were off over the weekend, resting during their first bye week of the season. The Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-0) beat Indiana at home, 45-29. Heading into Saturday's game, the most recent victory for both teams will have come at the expense of the Hoosiers.

Iowa has been mostly impressive defensively and lackluster offensively, but the offense picked things up last week. Against Indiana, quarterback Jake Rudock completed 19 of 27 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. No receiver had more than four catches or 85 yards, but the Hawkeyes still managed 38 offensive points.

The defense also produced a touchdown Saturday, on a 35-yard interception run-back by cornerback Desmond King. As a unit, the Hawkeyes forced three fumbles against Indiana but didn't recover any of them. If they had, the Iowa margin of victory likely would have been greater than 16 points.