Maryland vs. Michigan State Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4

Things are not going well for the Michigan State Spartans football program at the moment. Head coach Mel Tucker is on unpaid leave while Washington pounded the team 41-7. The Spartans are 2-1 as they begin Big 10 play at home against the Maryland Terrapins. 

Last week, Maryland ran up the score on UVA for a 42-14 win to get to 3-0 on the year. The Terps are favored in Week 4 and for a look at the world of college football heading into this week you should check out the weekly preview and column from BetSided college football betting analyst Reed Wallach. 

If you’re betting college football in Week 4, make sure to take advantage of this great promo from Caesars Sportsbook. Just sign up below and bet $50 to get $250 in bonus bets win or lose.

Now, a look at the odds for Maryland and Michigan State both team’s Big 10 opener. 

Maryland vs. Michigan State Odds, Spread and Total

Michigan State vs. Maryland Betting Trends

• Michigan State is 2-1 ATS
• The UNDER is 2-1 in Michigan State games
• Maryland is 1-2 ATS
• The OVER is 2-1 in Maryland games

Maryland vs. Michigan State How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, September 23
• Time: 3:30 PM EST
• Venue: Spartan Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): NBC
• Maryland Record: 3-0
• Michigan State Record: 2-1

Maryland vs. Michigan State Key Players to Watch

Maryland

Taulia Tagovailoa, QB: It has to be a battle in the Tagovailoa family right now for who can have the better stat line. In Week 3 of the college football season, Taulia went for 342 yards on just 19/30 passing with one touchdown. He outdid his big brother who threw for 249 and a touchdown with an interception on Sunday Night Football. 

Michigan State

Noah Kim, QB: Kim is doing his best to keep the Spartans in games on offense, but struggled in a step up in competition. After passing for nearly 300 yards in his frist two starts against Central Michigan and Richmond, Kim completed only 12 of his 31 passes for 136 yards with an interception.

Maryland vs. Michigan State Prediction and Pick

It's shaping up to be a miserable season in East Lansing right now. I’m not sure how they will keep this team from falling apart after a bad loss to Washington. Now, Maryland is not on the level of the Huskies, but with Taulia Tagovailoa they throw the ball almost as much. 

Maryland is 23rd in pass attempts per game and 45th in yards per attempt at 8.4. They are throwing for 304.0 passing yards a game while Michigan State is 99th in pass defense.

Tagovailoa has a great trio of pass catchers with Jeshaun Jones, Kaden Prather and tight end Corey Dyches. Jones has 13 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns and Dyches has 16 grabs for 195 and one score. Prather is the deep threat with 164 yards and two touchdowns on just eight catches. That’s an average of 20.5 yards per reception. 

Michigan State on the other side doesn’t have much talent that jumps off the page offensively. They are gaining 5.9 yards per play, which is a full yard less than Maryland and last week, their first without Mel Tucker, they managed 4.2 yards per play and punted eight times. 

The under is 7-1 in eight head-to-head meetings between these teams, but with how Maryland dismantled Virginia’s defense last week, I like the Terps to cover instead. The total is 53.5 and Maryland is coming off a 42 point performance and Michigan State gave up 41 in Week 3. I’ll take the Terps to cover and stay away from the under despite the recent history indicating that's the bet.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change