Written by T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Who: Maryland Terrapins (2-1) at #12 Indiana Hoosiers (4-1)

Where: Memorial Stadium

When: Saturday, November 28 at Noon on ESPN2

Odds: -11.5 Indiana – Game lines provided by legal Indiana Sports Betting apps

Series History: Indiana and Maryland have played each other eight times, with six coming in the modern era as Big Ten East foes. The first two meetings occurred in 1934 and 1935, both Indiana victories. Maryland won the first game as a Big Ten rival in 2014, IU won the next two, Maryland won a thrilled in 2017 and Indiana has won the last two games. Both games (2018 and 2019) were very closely contested and Maryland’s offense has been successful against Tom Allen’s defense, scoring 32 and 28 points in the past two matchups and 42 in their 2017 win.

What’s at Stake: Maryland lost their season opener in blowout fashion but they bounced back and won in week two and week three to move to 2-1. Their season was then put on hold as games against Ohio State and Michigan State were both cancelled because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the Terrapins program. A win over a ranked Hoosiers squad would send another strong message that Mike Locksley has Maryland headed in the right direction. It would also give them a leg up on the race for second-place in the Big Ten East. The Indiana Hoosiers came up just short against Ohio State and fell to 4-1, coming in at #12 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. If the Hoosiers can beat Maryland, they’ll travel to Madison next week with a chance to vault into New Year’s Six bowl game consideration. Indiana can all but lock up second place in the East with a win on Saturday.

Things to Watch

1. Run Game Success

Giving up rushing yards to Ohio State is understandable. You can’t stop everything against an opponent as good as the Buckeyes. However, giving up more than 300 rushing yards is a problem that needs to be monitored against Jake Funk and Taulia Tagovailoa. Funk is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and Tagovailoa has broken a couple of big rushes so far this season. On the flip side, the Hoosiers have mightily struggled to establish their rushing attack. The Terrapins offer an opportunity for the running game to “get right”. They gave up 325 rushing yards and 6.1 yards per carry against Northwestern, 262 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per rush against Minnesota before rebounding a bit against Penn State. Can Indiana find some successful ways to rush the ball that will give them some balance on offense? Can they slow down Jake Funk and force the game entirely on Tagovailoa’s shoulders?

2. Turnover Battle

The Indiana Hoosiers have been incredibly successful in creating turnovers. They forced Justin Fields into three interceptions and have 13 picks in five games. Taulia Tagovailoa is an inexperience sophomore quarterback and has thrown four interceptions on 86 attempts in 2020. IU had four turnovers against Ohio State but have been pretty good about taking care of the ball prior to that contest. If the Hoosiers can get back to winning the takeaway battle and then converting on those opportunities, they would be in incredibly good shape to pull out a fifth win.

3. Who Plays?

Big Ten protocols require players that test positive for COVID-19 to be unavailable for all football activities for 21 days and then pass a cardiac screening before becoming eligible for games. We don’t know who all tested positive for Maryland but we do know there were a reported 23 positive tests within the program. Who will have to sit out for the Terrapins? Will they be missing key starters? After sitting out for two weeks, how the Terrapins look when they take the field in Bloomington is anyone’s guess. The Hoosiers will need to show up and play a focused and intense game, regardless of who is on the other side.

Juliet’s Pregame Video

Big Ten Betting Picks

Ohio State – 28.5 at Illinois – Noon on Saturday

The biggest weak spot for the Ohio State Buckeyes appears to be the secondary. Illinois is not equipped to exploit that weakness. I know the Illini will try and burn clock with the running game but I don’t see them keeping the Buckeyes below the high-40s and I like OSU to win big.

Northwestern and Michigan State – under 42.5

Northwestern has an incredibly good defense but the Wildcats are just not very good on offense. Peyton Ramsey is doing what Northwestern needs him to do but they are 120th in yards per play and Michigan State’s defense is not bad. These two are going to play a very ugly game and I struggle to see either side reaching higher than say, 24. If I believe the best-case scenario for Northwestern’s offense in this one is 24 and the best I can see for MSU is maybe 17…I love the under.

In partnership with legal Indiana Sports Betting apps, this article will include a couple of Big Ten betting picks each week!