Two of the remaining five undefeated teams in the Big Ten go head-to-head this week as the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes (4-0) travel to face the Maryland Terrapins (4-0). While Iowa is looking to climb even higher in the national rankings, a win would put the Terps at 5-0 for the first time in two decades and likely get them ranked on Monday.
Friday’s kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium in College Park, and the contest will air on FS1.
Iowa hasn’t played in Maryland since 2014, a 38-31 loss. The last two meetings between these teams came in Iowa City, with the hosts winning 23-0 in 2018 and 31-15 in 2015. The Hawkeyes and Terrapins never met before Maryland joined the Big Ten.
Iowa Succeeds With Run Game and Defense
The offense has been pedestrian so far this season with only 293 yards of offense, but they have still scored nearly 30 points per game. The defense is the calling card for the Hawkeyes as they have limited the first four opponents to just 11 points per game. The line has been fantastically limiting the opposition to 84.5 yards per game rushing.
Tyler Goodson has 364 rushing yards in four games and averages 4.6 yards per carry. He went for 99 yards and a touchdown against Indiana in the opener and had a season-best 153 yards with three touchdowns against Kent State. Tight end Sam LaPorta has two touchdown catches while hauling in 17 passes for 214 yards.
Quarterback Spencer Petras has struggled so far this season in the Hawkeyes games against Power Five teams. He completed just 11-of-21 passes against Iowa State, was 13-for-27 against Indiana, and 15-for-23 against Colorado State. The good thing is he takes care of the ball with just one interception on the season.
The defense has 13 sacks in four games, and they will have the challenge of chasing Taulia Tagovailoa around all game. Iowa has a ball-hawking defense with six interceptions, including two each by Matt Hankins and Riley Moss.
Terps Airing It Out
Maryland is averaging 37.3 points per game and allowing 14.3. The passing game is getting it done with 353 yards per game as the Terps have more than 519 yards per game of total offense. They have scored at least 30 points in three of the four games while beating Illinois on a last-second kick 20-17.
Tagovailoa has completed over 75 percent of his passes this season, with 1,340 yards in four games. He has ten touchdowns to just one interception while also rushing for 36 yards and being sacked seven times. Tagovailoa has at least 270 yards in each game, and he’s thrown for more than 350 in each of the last two contests.
The top target is Dontay Demus Jr., who has 24 catches for 446 yards and three touchdowns. He has at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in three of the four games this season. Rakim Jarrett also has three touchdowns with 17 catches for 265 yards.
The Terps run game is controlled by Tayon Fleet-Davis. The senior has 311 yards in four games with an average of 7.1 yards per carry and four touchdowns. He will have his hands full against the Iowa front line to keep his numbers going.
Betting Analysis
- Iowa Hawkeyes -3 (-120). -160 Moneyline
- Maryland Terrapins +3 (+100). +140 Moneyline
- Total Points: 48. Over -105. Under -115
This will be the best team Maryland has played this season by far, and it will be a challenge for their offense to keep putting up gaudy numbers like they did against Howard and Kent State. Iowa took some time to get it going against Colorado State, and a slow start Friday could be trouble. The Iowa defense is legit, and so is their run game, while Maryland still has something to prove.
Betting Pick: Under 48 points (-115)
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