Bet Maryland Terrapins – Leaky Defense Will Be Downfall Of Terrapins

2009 Maryland Terrapins Betting Recap

Online betting players didn’t have much faith in the Terrapins in 2009, as they won just one of their eight conference games in the ACC and finished 2-10 overall. Both of the wins came by three points against James Madison and Clemson, who won the ACC Atlantic. Six of their 10 wins came by 10 points or less, and they were only really routed against Virginia Tech and California, two ranked teams, as well as Rutgers.

Maryland was terrible on both sides of the ball, coming in 102nd in offense and 83rd in defense in Ralph Friedgen’s worst season in nine years in College Park. Chris Turner spent most of the season running for his life behind an offensive line that allowed the Terrapins to come in 110th in sacks, and they had no semblance of a running game. Defensively, Maryland was awful against the pass, coming in 97th, and when you can’t stop the pass in today’s spread-oriented NCAA scene, your NCAA football betting odds won’t be very good.

2010 Preview To Bet Maryland

Friedgen’s contract is up at the end of the 2011 season, but he may find himself in a buyout situation if there’s another debacle like last season. The thing is, there isn’t very much left in the cupboard to make sportsbook players believe in a turnover for the Terrapins. Seven starters are back on offense, and at least new starting quarterback Jamarr Robinson will have Torrey Smith to throw to. The key will be the offensive line, who had the excuse of inexperience last season. This year, they’ll be counted on for a big improvement. Defense could be a problem again with five starters back, including just one in the secondary, and that doesn’t bode well for a team that didn’t defend well against the pass in the first place.

Maryland will begin the season with a neutral-site game against Navy in Maryland, and they’ll be out to follow 2005’s 23-20 win over the Midshipmen. They’ll need a good start to the season, because last year’s 52-13 whipping at Cal set the tone for the entire season. Less than two weeks later, they welcome West Virginia to College Park, but the season will be won or loss in a five-game midseason stretch that features four road games at Clemson, Boston College, Miami and Virginia. The Terrapins then conclude the year with home games against Florida State and North Carolina State.

The Terrapins should be improved this season, but that’s not saying much after they won just twice. Unless the defense clicks quickly, the Terrapins’ sports betting odds won’t be that great, and five wins should be their ceiling in 2010.