Texas vs. Maryland Total Prediction
Will Saturday’s Week 1 matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Maryland Terps result in a defensive struggle when the two teams meet at 12:00 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
173 Texas Longhorns at 174 Maryland Terps
12:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 1, 2018
FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Longhorns are 13.5-point favorites to beat the Terps. The total, meanwhile, sits at 53 points. As of this writing, 64% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Longhorns.
Texas Longhorns
Texas HC Tom Herman told reporters that sophomore QB Sam Ehlinger took the majority of first-team snaps on and is likely to start the season opener against Maryland. Herman told reporters that Ehlinger will be under center “unless something catastrophic happens.” Well, then. The sophomore signal-caller was in a battle with Shane Buechele to be the starter for the Longhorns, and while this doesn’t rule out Buechele playing at some point this year, it appears Ehlinger has earned the first crack at the starting job. Texas takes on the Terrapins on September 1.
Maryland Terps
Updating a previous item, acting Maryland HC Matt Canada told reporters that he knows his starting quarterback and simply isn’t divulging it. Canada taking the ol’ cloak-and-dagger approach on this one. When the Terrapins released their Week 1 depth chart for this weekend’s showdown with Texas, quarterback was slashed with an “OR” between sophomore Kasim Hill and redshirt sophomore Tyrell Pigrome. Both quarterbacks are healthy after sustaining season-ending knee injuries last September.
Betting Trends
Texas
The Longhorns are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight non-conference games.
Maryland
The Terps are 2-6 against the number in their last eight games overall.
Prediction
The Longhorns certainly have more experience on offense this year but they still have limited weapons. This is a team that looks like it’ll likely rely on an excellent defense and an opportunistic offense again under Tom Herman. Maryland, meanwhile, was excellent at limiting big plays a year ago and allowing minimal yards after catch. That won’t change this year and shouldn’t change for this matchup against a Texas team that again, could sputter offensively. I like the under on Saturday.
College Football Prediction: Texas/Maryland under 53