After snapping a three-game losing streak Saturday, Maryland football is favored to add another win this weekend—but not heavily.
The Terps opened as a one-point favorite over Rutgers on OddsShark, marking the first time Maryland has been favored since Sept. 23 against UCF (which ... whoops). The Terps were underdogs in each of their first five Big Ten games, but have started conference play 2-3.
This spread might seem low to some, as Maryland beat the Scarlet Knights by 18 last year and has captured the last two matchups. However, some opening lines actually have the teams at even. Rutgers’ record (3-5, 2-3 Big Ten) isn’t far behind Maryland, although those two conference wins came against Illinois and Purdue.
It’s unclear how the line would be different had this game remained in Yankee Stadium instead of being moved to Rutgers’ campus, but it most likely helped the Scarlet Knights’ cause. Point spreads change throughout the week, so it’ll be interesting to see in which direction this one goes.
In other news
It was a busy Homecoming weekend in College Park. One night before the Terps pulled out a crazy win on the gridiron, Maryland volleyball swept Indiana at the Xfinity Center Pavilion. Two days later, Steve Aird’s team upset No. 17 Purdue in a five-set thriller.
Maryland field hockey dispatched Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, and will now head to East Lansing for the next round.
(By the way, here’s a field hockey feature from The Diamondback on Katie Bam—formerly Katie O’Donnell—who’s returned to coach her alma mater and energize the Terps’ offense.)
The women’s basketball team cruised to a 69-point win in its first preseason scrimmage against Glenville State.
The men’s team also picked up an exhibition win, beating Wake Forest in a closed-off scrimmage on Saturday.
Only the men’s soccer team failed to record a win, as Maryland dropped its fourth straight match to close the regular season. The Terps will be the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
We had our first big head coach firing of the college season, as Florida canned Jim McElwain on Sunday. Our network brethren at Alligator Army have a list of 18 potential candidates, and ... yeah, DJ Durkin’s on it.