Clemson Tigers @ Maryland Terrapins
Football: United States, NCAA Football 2009/2010
Saturday, 3rd October 2009, 12pm (ET), 5pm (London)

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Clemson Tigers (2-2)

Clemson, although only 2-2, are off to a decent start. Their losses have been away to Georgia Tech (currently ranked #25 in the latest AP ranking) and at home to TCU (currently #11 in the AP). Both were close games that they could have won.

Clemson relies heavily on a strong running game as they are starting a freshman QB. CJ Spiller is the featured back and is currently averaging over 100 yards (rushing and receiving) per game. He is also a threat on kickoff returns as he already has a 96 yard kickoff return for a TD.

Meanwhile their defense has been pretty solid, but not spectacular. They are averaging allowing about 16 pts per game.

Maryland Terrapins (1-3)

Maryland on the other hand, has been just terrible. They are turning the ball over (13 times in 4 games against weak competition).

As a result, the Terrapins are allowing an average of over 38 points scored against them. In particular, they have had trouble stopping the run, allowing about 5 yards per carry.

Trends to consider

• The home team has lost the last 4 meetings.


• The road team has covered the spread 8 of the last 10 meetings.


• Clemson are 3-1 ATS this year and 7-2 in their last 9 games against opponents with a losing record.


• Maryland has not covered the spread this year. So far this year they have been 18, 7, 8, and 22 points worse than the spread in their 4 games.

THe Betting Verdict

This has all the makings of a big Clemson victory.

In the two games they have been able to run the ball successfully, they have had big wins. This should be another opportunity for Clemson.

The Pick :

Clemson 34, Maryland 17

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Clemson -12.5 points to win by a big enough margin to cover.