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College Football Week 12 Odds, Picks & Predictions: Maryland vs. Ohio State (2022)

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Let’s take a look at the College Football Week 12 odds, picks, and predictions for this weekend’s game: Maryland vs. Ohio State.

And check out our other game previews and picks for Week 12 of the College Football season:

Check out Thor Nystrom’s Week 12 College Football Power Rankings >>

College Football Week 12 Odds, Picks & Predictions: Maryland vs. Ohio State

Maryland looked as bad as you can look last week against Penn State. It’s going to take some courage to close your eyes and step onto the train tracks with the Terps with the Buckeye locomotive rolling into town. But buckle up because we’ve bought our ticket and are ready to ride.

The Buckeyes are ravaged by injuries, particularly at running back. The Buckeyes are also in a huge overlook spot, with a potential CFP eliminator game against archrival Michigan on deck. The Buckeyes just want to win and get out. It is anyone’s guess as to which Buckeyes, exactly, we will see – which goes back to the motivation question… will HC Ryan Day be extra cautious with the Wolverines looming? Last week featured double-digit Buckeye inactives – how many are we getting this time?

A foot injury cost OSU RB TreVeyon Williams last Saturday’s game against Indiana. Fellow committee RB Miyan Williams left that same game with an ankle injury. The Buckeyes were already thin on RB depth following the training camp injury to Evan Pryor. Ohio State had shifted LB Chip Trayanum, a former Arizona State running back, back to RB to address the perilous depth concerns two weeks ago – but Trayanum, too, was out with an injury against Indiana.

On Wednesday, Day only said he’d be “shocked” if “all three” of the injured backs – meaning Henderson, Williams, and Trayanum – missed the Maryland game. That’s… not… um… a super promising statement. Because it allows for the possibility that they all could. And if that happens, we’d get the end-of-game Indiana scenario again. That was: Frosh RB Dallen Hayden functioning as the lead-back, with backup walk-on WR Xavier Johnson as RB2. And god-knows-what behind Johnson. If one or two of the three can give it a go, you can figure out how quickly Day will want to yank that person with a lead in this scenario.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, their injury woes go deeper than the running back room. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to be out with his hamstring injury. Starting RT Dawand Jones missed the Indiana game. While OSU got starting CB Cam Brown back from his injury against the Hoosiers, fellow starting CB Denzel Burke missed his second-consecutive game. OSU’s top three CBs have missed a combined 13 games.

And, of course, there’s that enormous lookahead spot to the monumental tilt against Michigan coming next week. And this super-inflated spread – by my numbers, nearly eight points – that doesn’t reflect the reality of OSU’s situational spot. And remember: The Buckeyes do not need style points, unlike North Carolina above. Ohio State merely needs to win out, and they’re in. And with where they’re at and with who’s on deck in this game, win as quickly as possible and get out there as healthy as possible.

The pick: Maryland +27.5

What is Betting Against the Spread?

Betting “against the spread” refers to the act of choosing the winning team based on a numeric handicap placed on the team that oddsmakers believe is superior, rather than picking the outright winner. For example, if the Rams face the Bengals, and oddsmakers set the spread at Rams -3.5, you would need Los Angeles to win by 4 or more points in order to cash your Rams bet.

What is an Over/Under Bet?

Over/Under is a wager based on how many points you think will be scored in a specific game. Oddsmakers set the total, and bettors decide whether the final score will be higher or lower than that number. If an Over/Under is set at 44.5 points and you bet Over, you will need the combined score of both teams to be 45 points or higher to win your bet.

What is a Moneyline Bet?

A moneyline bet involves choosing which team you believe will win a specific matchup. The moneyline favorite carries a minus designation, like -130. This means that you need to wager $130 to earn a $100 profit. Conversely, the underdog carries a plus designation, like +110. This means that you win $110 in profit on a $100 bet.

Prop Bet Analyzer: View top rated props and historical prop performance by player >>

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