Michael Perry is an oddsmaker with Logans.com. Each week he gives the details on the action his book receives for college football's Thursday night game.
Maryland Terrapins at Virginia Tech Hokies (-2.5, 42.5)
The volume of bets for the Maryland-Virginia Tech game is a little less than what we are accustomed to. Injuries to prominent players for both squads probably have something to do with it.
Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott is questionable due to a bad shoulder. The Terps do have an adequate backup in Davin Maggett (son of former NY Giant player Dave Maggett). Maggett is averaging 5.4 yards per carry - pretty much the same average as Scott.
Virginia Tech has an even more glaring injury situation with its top two quarterbacks (Tyrod Taylor & Sean Glennon) both nursing ankle injuries. The Hokies quarterback will be Cory Holt, who has thrown a grand total of six passes all season.
The betting public seems to be unfazed by Virginia Tech’s quarterback situation. The favored Hokies are drawing 66 percent of the action.
Meanwhile, the Terps (+130) are the popular moneyline pick with 57 percent of our bets on Maryland. It’s common when the spread is close to three points for people to take the underdog on moneyline because plus money looks more appealing.
On Tuesday afternoon when it was announced Holt would be QB, the spread went from -3.5 to -2.5. The total dipped from 43.5 to 42.5.
Once again, the over is the popular total play. Sixty two percent of our total bets are on the over.