Football

Spread released for Maryland football’s conference opener vs. Michigan State

After playing Friday night, Maryland will use the long weekend to officially turn the page to conference play with the Big Ten opener set for next weekend.

After drawing votes in both the coaches (19) and AP poll (4) on Sunday, Maryland will travel to Michigan State next Saturday, September 23 for a 3:30 PM kickoff on NBC. Maryland opens as a four-point favorite, per DraftKings, with the line already climbing to 6.5 points by the afternoon.

After defeating Central Michigan and Richmond to open the season, Michigan State was dominated by eighth-ranked Washington on Saturday afternoon at home in a 41-7 loss.

“Obviously, that wasn’t the game that we thought we were gonna see tonight. Had a lot of things that we’ve got to clean up as far as missed tackles, substitution errors, things like that,” acting head coach Harlon Barnett said following the loss. “We’ll get those things cleaned up. We’re looking forward to starting Big Ten play. We still have all our goals in front of us, that’s our mindset right now.”

Saturday’s loss also marked the first game since Mel Tucker was suspended as head coach, elevating Barnett to fill Tucker’s role with defensive analyst T.J. Hollowell filling in as the tenth on-field assistant. Former head coach Mark Dantonio also returned to the program in an advisory role on game days.

“I envision my role sort of as an ongoing thing,” Dantonio said, via the Detroit Free Press’ Chris Solari. “I’m four days in. As a coach, terminology and systems in place. It takes so long to get those things. So I’m sort of a consultant, advisor. I’m just going to just immerse myself in football a little bit and if I have something to say, I’ll say it.

Maryland was able to come out of its nonconference slate unscathed, overcoming a 14-0 deficit for the second straight week to dominate Virginia in a 42-14 win on Friday night.

“Got to give Virginia credit. Came out, did a pretty good job in the first quarter of jumping out to a 14 0-lead but once again, we responded. And as I told our team, I think I have enough proof that we’re a team that’s built to overcome adversity and I don’t think I need to see us down 14-0 anymore to know that we’re capable,” Locksley said following the win.

Heading into this weekend, Maryland will look to finish .500 or better in conference play for the first time since 2014.

“It’s always tough in the Big Ten on the road. So, we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I know we’re looking forward to getting back in here on Monday get this one behind us and start preparing for conference play.”