Maryland will look to put its first loss of the season behind them as they return home to host Illinois for homecoming this weekend.
Maryland will do so as a healthy favorite as they open as a 13-point favorite, per Draftkings, while O/U has been set at 48.5, per FanDuel.
Through six weeks, Maryland is 3-3 against the spread.
Maryland has won both all-time matchups against Illinois, first defeating the Illini, 63-33, behind three touchdowns from Javon Leake back in 2018. Maryland also overcame a fourth-quarter deficit as Joseph Petrino knocked through a 32-yard field goal as time expired in Champaign, lifting Maryland to a 20-17 win.
The Terps will look to make it three wins in a row this weekend as head coach Bret Bielema looks to end his team’s two-game slide.
Illinois enters week seven 2-4 (0-3) following a humbling 20-7 loss at home against Nebraska on Friday night, as a pair of Husker touchdowns within a ten-second span sealed their fate. While Illinois finished with 310 yards of total offense, over 45% of that production came on the first and last possession of the game as the stagnant Illini offense looks to find its groove under quarterback Lute Altmyer.
Maryland, meanwhile, will look to clean up the miscues and officially become bowl eligible this weekend.
“We had a couple of situations in the first half we didn’t come away with a touchdown down inside the five. We didn’t get a 4th-and-one. And those are the types of plays where our best players got to show up, make plays and we’ve got to do a better job as a coaching staff of putting them in those positions to make plays,” Locksley said following the loss. “We talked all week about getting a game into the fourth quarter and then seeing where we fit. We were able to do that, and I just didn’t like the way we finished, which again, we can get those things corrected when you go back and look at it. I’m sure we’ll see that there were some opportunities that we had that maybe affected us, us affecting us more than it was Ohio State. it’s my job to make sure we get those things corrected.”
Related Links
Maryland football’s snap counts, PFF grades vs. Ohio StateYoung Terps: Maryland squanders road upset chance vs. Ohio State