Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland, and Iowa Give the Big Ten a Third Chance. Vegas Big Ten Predictions for Week 4 Here.
Saturday Blitz Vegas Big Ten Predictions Week 4
Maryland Terrapins at Syracuse Orange
Line: Syracuse by 1
A week ago, this would have looked like an easy Maryland win. But now it looks like Syracuse is the favorite. The Terps showed against West Virginia that they have talent all over the field but are facing one major weakness: Quarterback C.J. Brown can’t throw the ball. He can run it very well and makes for a great spread option offense, but he’s not accurate and only hits guys when they’re wide open. The defense can’t be blamed last week because the flow of the game forced them to be on the field a lot as West Virginia ran lots of plays. But with so many playmakers on the offense, Maryland should have matched the Mountaineers score for score. Brown’s accuracy has to improve going forward, and it has to start this week at Syracuse. That is the only key to Maryland winning easily or losing because just about everywhere else is set.
Syracuse, meanwhile, bounced back after struggling with Villanova in its opener. Terrel Hunt was very efficient in the Orange’s 40-3 victory over Central Michigan, the running game picked up, and the defense looked great. They need to play exactly like that to win at home on Saturday, but they also have to do a bit more. The Orange will want to run as many plays as possible to keep the Maryland defense looking unstable, and they need to force Brown to beat them by throwing the ball. Covering the deep ball and stopping the run should be enough to pull out the victory because Brown isn’t great at picking apart defenses for long drives down the field. If Syracuse cuts down on the big plays Maryland generally makes, this game will go in their favor. But if they can’t stop that, then they are in trouble.
Prediction
Maryland will get its share of big plays to make this a game and threaten Syracuse down to the wire, but the Orange will expose Brown’s inability to make accurate passes consistently. They will be able to score enough on offense, and the Terps won’t be able to keep up with Brown. If he gets hurt and Caleb Rowe comes in, this could be a different story, but the inconsistent play in the passing game and short-yardage situations will do Maryland in.
Syracuse: 34 Maryland: 30