The Maryland Terrapins and Rutgers Scarlet Knights will conclude the 2022 regular season with a noon showdown on Nov. 26.
First, Maryland has to prepare for a pivotal and difficult showdown against the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, who will pay a visit to SECU Stadium this Saturday. As for Rutgers, their penultimate game of 2022 will take place against the No. 11 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.
While the Terrapins have played right at or near expectations in 2022, the Scarlet Knights will likely finish with an eighth straight losing season. Their last winning campaign came in 2014, when the school finished 8-5.
Rutgers will have to win their final two games to finish .500 under third-year head coach Greg Schiano. Obviously, that’s a very tall task with the powerhouse Nittany Lions coming to town, but it is possible.
The state of Maryland is slated to launch mobile sports betting on Nov. 23, and there will be several special offers for new customers to take advantage of. There’s a DraftKings Maryland promo code where new users can get $200 in free bets on launch day. On top of that, five new customers will receive $100,000 in free wagers on the date of launching.
DraftKings Maryland also has a special rewards program, where you earn crowns each time you bet. Through the sportsbook, you can place all sorts of different bets – including futures, totals, moneylines and point spreads. So Terrapins fans will have the option to bet on the game against Rutgers, as well as the school’s bowl game (opponent, date and bowl game to be announced).
Maryland Looking For Momentum Ahead Of Bowl Game
The Terrapins will be playing in a bowl game, we just don’t know which one yet, and who the opponent will be.
Last year, the Terrapins cruised to a 54-10 victory over Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl. This was the school’s first victory in a bowl game since 2010, when the Terrapins defeated East Carolina 51-20 in the Military Bowl.
Maryland will have to play a near-flawless game if they’re to get past the Buckeyes on Saturday. Ohio State is a perfect 10-0, and the C.J. Stroud-led offense should have a field day against a Maryland secondary that is allowing the fifth-most passing yards among all Big Ten teams (232.1 per game).
The Terrapins aren’t being given much of a chance against the Buckeyes, but simply keeping it close would go a long way in building up confidence ahead of the game with Rutgers.
Maryland has struggled with consistency since jumping out to a perfect 3-0 start. They have gone 3-4 since then, and two of those losses came against two of the top ranked teams in Michigan (34-27 on Sept. 24) and Penn State (30-0 last week).
Rutgers also jumped out to a perfect 3-0 start, but they have since suffered a pair of three-game losing streaks. The first skid was snapped with a 24-17 victory over Indiana on Oct. 22, but that win was followed by losses to Minnesota, Michigan and Maryland.
Predictions For Maryland vs. Rutgers
The Terrapins offense is powered by Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Miami Dolphins superstar quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The dynamic rushing duo of Roman Hemby and Antwain Littleton II should have a field day against a vulnerable Rutgers defense that’s allowing 134.4 yards on the ground per game. And if the Scarlet Knights stack the box, it’ll just open up more room for Tagovailoa to find his receivers.
Meanwhile, the Rutgers offense has simply lacked consistent game-changers and playmakers. Gavin Wimsatt has gotten better each week, but heading into the game against Penn State, the Scarlet Knights didn’t have a single rusher with 400 yards nor a single receiver with 400 yards.
Momentum is another key thing to consider here. There hasn’t been any consistency on offense all season long for Rutgers, and it’s simply hard to envision them suddenly finding their groove against a Maryland defense that has enjoyed great success at home.
So it’s all adding up to a field day for the Maryland defense. Throw in the advantage of quarterback and Tagovailoa’s superior set of playmakers, and the Terrapins should manage to win by double-digit scores.
Prediction: Maryland 31, Rutgers 17
