Maryland Terrapins vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Game Preview and Prediction - 10/23/2021

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 23, 2021

Venue:  Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Maryland +5, Minnesota -5; Over/Under:  54.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Maryland +5, Minnesota -5; Over/Under:  54.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Maryland +5, Minnesota -5; Over/Under:  54.5 points

 

Maryland Terrapins:  4-2 (5th place, Big Ten East)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  4-2 (2nd place, Big Ten West)

 

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Maryland Terrapins:  lost on the road on Oct. 9 against the Ohio State Buckeyes 66-17.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  won at home on Oct. 16 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers 30-23.

 

 

 

Maryland is coming into this game with a 4-2 record overall and they are 1-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 3rd conference matchup of the year and they are not in a good position with a 1-2 record in their conference games this season. Their 1 win came against the Illinois Fighting Illini while their 2 losses came against the Iowa Hawkeyes and against OSU in their last game. They got smashed in their last game allowing 66 points in a game where they gave up the lead right away and never even had a chance of catching OSU. Taulia Tagovailoa struggled in that game as he completed 28/39 passes for 279 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Challen Faamatau led the team in rushing with 71 yards on 9 carries in that game. Chigoziem Okonwo led the receivers with 56 yards on 5 receptions while Rakim Jarrett and Carlos Carriere caught the touchdown passes in that one with 1 each. Overall, it was a very quiet day for the receiving corps and the entire offense in that one. Tarheeb Still led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones while Nick Cross was right behind with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted one and Lavonte Gater was behind him with 5 solo tackles. Mosiah Nasili-Kite recorded the only sack for them in that game and no one on the defense was able to come away with an interception. They have scored 180 points in their first 6 games averaging 30 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 174 points against them 29 PPG. Their offense is averaging 447.2 YPG while their defense is allowing 381.7 YPG.

 

 

Minnesota is coming into this game with a 4-2 record overall and they are 2-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 4th conference matchup on their schedule and they are in a good position with a 2-1 record in their conference games this season. Their 1 loss was against the Ohio State Buckeyes back in their opening game while their 2 wins were against the Purdue Boilermakers and against Nebraska in their last game. That game was a little tight at times but for the most part Minnesota was leading that game the whole time. Tanner Morgan played alright at times but also struggled in that game as he completed 20/24 passes for 209 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Bryce Williams led the team in rushing with 127 yards and 1 touchdown on 17 carries and had a very nice day for himself as he was basically their entire running game in that one. Chris Autman-Bell also had a nice day as he led the team in receiving with 103 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 receptions. Mike Brown-Stephens and Brevyn Spann-Ford both caught the other 2 touchdown passes with 1 each. Jack Gibbens led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones. Esezi Otomewo and Nyles Pinckney both led the defense in sacks with 1 each in that game but no one was able to come up with an interception in that one. They have scored 152 points in their first 6 games averaging 25.3 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 121 points against them allowing 20.2 PPG. Their offense is averaging 345.5 YPG while their defense is allowing 319.3 YPG. 

 

Maryland is coming into this game as a 5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. They will be looking to bounce back after getting smashed by an OSU team that looks like they are ready to be back in the running for the college football playoffs. Minnesota has been playing in some close games recently with 2 wins by a TD or less and even a 4 point loss to BGSU. Maryland is not a bad team and although their defense is allowing more points than Minnesota's defense is, Maryland's offense is much better and will be able to score in this game and keep up with the pace. They will be hungry to play a better game in this one against a team that they know they actually have a chance at beating. The best bet to pace in this game is on Maryland to cover the spread here as they keep it close and might even win the game.

 

Maryland Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 23, 2021 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Maryland 31 Minnesota 27.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Maryland Terrapins Minnesota Golden Gophers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Maryland Terrapins: 159-171 ATS in all games. 92-106 ATS as an underdog. 46-62 ATS as a road underdog. 66-84 ATS in road games. 107-125 ATS against conference opponents.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 175-159 ATS in all games. 70-67 ATS as a favorite. 89-86 ATS in home games. 120-114 ATS against conference opponents.

 

 

Maryland Terrapins:  D. Nchami (LB) out for season - Undisclosed injury. J. Jones (WR) out for season - Leg injury. J. Bennett (DB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  D. Jackson (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. T. Potts (RB) out for season - Undisclosed injury. M. Ibrahim (RB) out for season - Leg injury.

 

 

Maryland Terrapins: Rakim Jarrett is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in touchdowns scored this season and he is coming off of a game where he scored another. He is a great target for them around the end zone and is very reliable so look for him to get in the end zone again in this one as they will surely target him in the red zone.

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers: Bryce Williams is one player to watch in this game. He will be the leading running back with their star Trey Potts out for the season with an injury. He is coming off of a nice game where he led his team in rushing with over 100 yards. Minnesota loves to run the ball so look for him to get a lot of touches in this game.

 

 

"Had guys look like they fell out of airplanes, they were so wide open." - Mike Locksley on the OSU wide receivers as his team’s defense got smashed by them in their last game.

 

 

"I'm proud of these guys for the way they came together. When the momentum was shifting, they didn't blink one bit. It wasn't going our way at times, but they never blinked." - P.J. Fleck on his team’s resilience in their win over Nebraska in their last game.

 

 

 

WR Jones, Darryl 

WR Jones, Darryl 

WR Jarrett, Rakim 

TE Okonkwo, Chigoziem 

QB Tagovailoa, Taulia 

RB Fleet-Davis, Tayon 

 

WR Autman-Bell, Chris 

WR Jackson, Daniel 

WR Wright, Dylan 

TE Kieft, Ko 

QB Morgan, Tanner 

RB Irving, Mar'Keise 

 

 

Passing: T. Tagovailoa (1776)

Rushing: T. Fleet-Davis (338)

Receiving: D. Demus Jr. (507)

Touchdowns: R. Jarrett (5)

Sacks: S. Okuayinonu (3)

Tackles: N. Cross (21)

 

Passing: T. Morgan (918)

Rushing: T. Potts (552)

Receiving: C. Autman-Bell (231)

Touchdowns: T. Potts (6)

Sacks: B. Mafe (5)

Tackles: J. Gibbens (22)

 

Coaches:

Maryland Terrapins: Mike Locksley (4th season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (5th season)

 

52 degrees F partly cloudy, 63% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 7 mph wind speeds E.