Navy Midshipmen vs Maryland Terrapins, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Monday, September 6, 2010, 4:00 pm EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Navy -10 1/2
Current Line: Navy -6 1/2
Opening Total: 46
Current Total: 48.5
Current Money Line: Navy -250/Maryland +210

All sportsbook odds from above taken from Bookmaker

Maryland and Navy are meeting for the first time since 2005, despite playing in the same state. The teams will play for the illustrious Crab Bowl trophy, and are in negotiations to play the game every year. Navy leads the series 14-6  Navy is currently listed as 6.5 point favorites by the college football odds makers.

After 10 season heading the program Coach Ralph Friedgen is on the hot seat for the Terps. After going to the Orange Bowl several seasons ago, the Terps have been mediocre at best barely qualifying for some of the lesser bowls. Last year, the Terps were awful and finished  2-10. They hope to improve, and if they don’t then Friedgen might be out of a job. Quarterback JaMarr Robinson takes over behind center. Senior Da’Rel Scott will handle most of the running duties. and is on the watch list for the Doak Walker Award given to the nation’s best running back. Wideout Torrey Smith is on the pre-season watch lists for both the Biletnikoff and Hornung awards. so the Terps do have some talent returning, but it will take some time to get back to competing in the rugged ACC. The offensive lien returns 3 starters and its success will determine how the season goes. Injuries could be a problem for the Terps this week against the Midshipmen. The top two tight ends are out for the Terrapins, Devonte Campbell and Will Yeatmen, and kicker Nick Ferrara will be a game time decision. As with most teams the key for Maryland to beat Navy is stopping the triple option. The Terps defense is is led by senior linebackers Adrien Moten and Alex Wujciak. Both could be disruptive to the triple option if left unguarded.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said recently that Navy will continue to run the triple option for the foreseeable future. The triple option is difficult to defend as it is only run by the three service academies and Georgia Tech. Teams don’t see it that often and don’t know how to defend against it. The way Navy runs the system makes it even more difficult to defend against as they don’t commit many penalties or give the ball away that often. It is not surprising that the student-athletes at a service academy would excel at the parts of the game that involve discipline. The offense is lead by quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who only threw for just over 1,000 yards and 6 TD’s. However Dobbs’ true strength is in his legs as he led the team in rushing with just under 1,200 yards and an astonishing 26 touchdowns. The Midshipmen are healthy and had no players listed on the injury report. The defense returns 6 starters from a unit that was ranked in the top 50 last year. Defense has notoriously been a weak spot for the Midshipmen, and they hope to improve this season. It might be a little difficult for the Midshipmen to stop the Terps balanced attack.

For the play tonight go with Maryland +7 -120 (buy the half point onto 7).  If you can’t buy the half point +6.5 is still a great play and our reccomendation for today.  For more free advice sign up for free college football picks from Maddux Sports.

The weather is expected be hot and humid with game time temps in the mid 80’s. The crowd is expected to be a mix of both Maryland and Navy fans as expected in a neutral site game in close proximity to both campuses. The game will be a nice warm-up for the Boise St-Virginia Tech game later in the evening. It should be an entertaining game between two rivals who haven’t met in 5 years.