Maryland vs Penn State 11/30/24 Game Information

Maryland vs Penn State Preview

Maryland (4-7, 1-7 in Big Ten) heads to Happy Valley to face No. 4 Penn State (10-1, 7-1 in Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon in a game with no real consequences as the Nittany Lions should win easily, but it won’t affect them trying to get a First Round Bye in the College Football Playoff. Heading into Week 14 play, the bracket has the Nittany Lions seeded No. 6 and facing and hosting fellow Big Ten Conference side Indiana (No. 11 seed) in a First Round game. The CFP will kick off on Friday, December 20 (ABC, ESPN, 8 EST/5 PST). Penn State is one of three teams, along with the Hoosiers and Ohio State who are in contention to play No. 1, Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game next weekend on Saturday, December 7 (CBS, 8 EST/7 CST/5 PST).

Maryland Looking to Snap 4-Game Losing Streak

Maryland (4-7-0 ATS, 6-3-0 O/U) has been a strong Over team but the Terrapins have lost 4 straight games, falling to Minnesota (48-23), Oregon (39-18), Rutgers (31-14), and Iowa (29-13) all by double-digits. QB Billy Edwards Jr. (2,881 passing yards, 15 TD, 9 Interceptions) and Maryland are out of range to make a Bowl game, so this game will come down to how much they want to fight in Happy Valley and how inclined Penn State is to run up the score. Ohio State plays Michigan and Indiana faces Purdue in two big rivalry games, and logic dictates that all three heavy chalks win with the Buckeyes ending up playing the Ducks in a rematch of Ohio State’s only loss.

Maryland Betting Trends

• Maryland is 3-7-0 ATS in its last 10 games vs Penn State
• The Under is 7-3-0 in the last 10 series meetings, 5-1 the last 6
• The Over is 7-3 in Maryland’s last 10 games overall
• The Under is 5-0-0 in the last 5 meetings at State College
• The Terrapins have been outgained in the last 8 games in the series

Penn State Will be Happy To Win, Avoid Any Injuries 

Penn State (5-6-0 ATS, 4-7-0 O/U) is led by QB Drew Allar (2,497 passing yards, 17 TD, 5 Interceptions), RB Kaytron Allen (664 rushing yards, 5 TD), and TE Tyler Warren (910 receiving yards, 5 TD) and pretty much out of the picture to get an opening round CFP Bye. But a freak loss here may give the committee a reason to bounce the Nittany Lions from the 12-team tournament should Ohio State and Indiana win in Week 14 and Penn State suffer its worst loss of the season. With the Nittany Lions having won 8 of the last 9 meetings, the Terps down this year and the Moneyline at -2782 (Maryland +1291), I don’t think we have to worry about that.

Penn State Betting Trends

• Penn State has beaten Maryland 3 straight times (112 PF-19 PA)
• The Over 2-0-0 in the Nittany Lions last 2 games
• The Nittany Lions are 43-3-1 SU lifetime vs Maryland
• The Under is 4-0-0 in Penn State’s last 4 Home games
• Penn State has beaten Terps by an average of 27.7 ppg the last 3 games

Maryland vs Penn State Pick and Prediction

This Maryland vs Penn State free NCAAF pick will look to the Totals market and look to the Under with the Nittany Lions having little incentive to beat the brains out of these hapless turtles on Senior Day. If form holds, Penn State can avoid a rugged Big Ten Championship Game and save all of its energies for a First Round CFP at Home against an opponent it will be favored to beat. So not getting hurt or wasting energy trying to win by a million will possibly be in Head Coach James Franklin’s head and this team may have a large number of days off (December 1 to December 20) to prepare for whomever they will play next. Making a conference Championship Game may not always be a great thing in this new CFP era unless you need it to get in the tournament. Penn State does not.

Kevin’s Pick: Maryland-Penn State Under 50.5