Maryland vs. Florida State Spread

Written by Kyle Hunter

The Florida State Seminoles season hasn’t gotten as planned, but they are trying to make the most out of their last couple of games. Maryland was expected to have a down year and they definitely have. Florida State is definitely the more talented of these two teams, but as the Seminoles have shown already this year they can overlook opponents at times.

The Seminoles of Florida State got some terrible news when Christian Ponder was reported as out for the season. Ponder had been the offensive leader and the real bright spot for this team. Fortunately for them E.J. Manuel came in last weekend and played very well at Wake Forest. No doubt the coaching staff would love to see Manuel continue to put up more efforts like he had last weekend. Manuel is a quarterback with a strong arm and the ability to make plays with his legs, much like Ponder, except he doesn’t have have much experience at all under center. Jermaine Thomas has been running the ball better for Florida State of late, which has helped diversify their offense a little bit. The defense is definitely the achilles heel of the team this year. For the year the defense is allowing about 31 points per game and over the last 3 games they are allowing 37 points per game. Simply put, the defense must clamp down and take some pressure of Manuel and the offense.

The Maryland Terrapins had one bright moment this season, the stunning upset of Clemson at home. Other than that Maryland has definitely had a season to forget this year. It’s hard to point out a real weakness on the team because really the offense and the defense are both far below par. Senior quarterback Chris Turner isn’t expected to play Saturday, which means sophomore Jamarr Robinson will step in at quarterback. Robinson had a very rough week last week, but that was against a great defense in Virginia Tech. Da’Rel Scott had been the leading rusher for the team, but he is out for the year with a wrist injury. The rest of the running backs for the team have done very little to help the meager 101 yards rushing per game Maryland gets as a team. On the defensive side of the ball Maryland has been unable to keep opponents out of the end zone, which has led to opponents scoring an average of 33 points against Maryland so far this season.

The college football odds for this weekend show Florida State as a 19 point home favorite. The posted total on the game is 58.5 points. Trends can be a key in making football picks, so keep in mind that Maryland is 1-7 against the spread in their last 7 games at Florida State. On the opposite side though, Florida State is 0-6 against the spread in their last 6 games as the favorite.

I am a big college football fan, but I must say I don’t expect this to be a very pretty game to watch. Both defenses are absolutely terrible and you never know which Florida State team will show up. Florida State should breeze through this game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will. It will be up to E.J. Manuel to make plays and take care of the ball, and if he does the Seminoles should roll.

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