Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Football: Nittany Lions a Single-Digit Favorite Over Maryland

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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After a thrilling overtime victory last week, Penn State is favored by a small margin against Maryland. 

Penn State has opened the new week as a small favorite against the visiting Maryland Terrapins. The Nittany Lions are 3-2 on the season and will look to win back-to-back Big Ten Conference games.

Oddsmakers in Vegas opened the line with Penn State favored by five points. Currently, the Nittany Lions are favored by three.

The Nittany Lions are coming off an important overtime victory last week at Beaver Stadium over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Down three points with under a minute to go, quarterback Trace McSorley led his team into range for a game-tying field goal.

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Star running back Saquon Barkley the Penn State’s first offensive play in overtime and ran 25 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Perhaps more importantly for the Nittany Lions, it was the first game all year in which they didn’t commit a turnover. There are still issues on offense, but new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead’s offense is slowing progressing.

On defense, the Nittany Lions are still dealing with inexperience at certain positions, particularly linebacker, due to injury. Penn State has really struggled against the run, allowing 216 yards a game.

Maryland enters the game 4-0 and has put up some very impressive numbers on offense. The Terrapins just scored 50 points against Purdue last week and are averaging 43 a game. Maryland has excelled at running the ball this season. Currently, the Terps are ranked seventh in the nation with 300 rushing yards a game.

The competition for Maryland hasn’t been the best, so this week’s game will be a good test.

On the other hand, this game could be a tough one for the Nittany Lions. If they can’t figure out how to stop the run, then Maryland may have a field day on the ground.

While the Nittany Lions won the contest between the two schools last year, Maryland pulled off an upset at Beaver Stadium in 2014. This year’s meeting will mark the third since the Terps joined the Big Ten Conference.

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