College football totals: Bet on fireworks in this Big Ten showdown

My Tuesday pieces are typically reserved for backing a betting favorite in college football but there just wasn’t a single one that stood out. With those picks on a four-game winning streak, I would rather preserve that record and pivot to a game total for the Week 7 college football slate.

Here’s what I like.

Take the OVER in Maryland at Indiana (61.5)

The Terps have a good thing going on offense with QB Taulia Tagovailoa behind center. He’s proving to be a promising quarterback, throwing for over 1,731 yards for the best season average of his college career at 8.8 yards per pass. Maryland is top 20 in passing yards and in pass per attempt.

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, are bottom 10 in passing yards allowed and bottom 30 in opponent yards per pass attempt.

Indiana’s defense gave up over 300 passing yards to Western Kentucky, Cincinnati and 10 yards per pass to Nebraska, while surrendering at least 30 points in each of those games. Tagovailoa will get the yards and the points as they have nine different players averaging at least 10 yards per reception, including a wide receiver in Jacob Copeland that averages 15.7 yards on just 16 total receptions. This is a strong offense.

Indiana is also top 30 in passing yards but bottom 30 in yards per pass attempt. Hoosiers QB Connor Bazelak may have a 52.5 completion percentage this season but strength of schedule has certainly played a role in that bottom-30 ranking. Indiana has faced solid defenses in Illinois, Cincinnati and Michigan. To the Hoosiers' benefit, Maryland struggles against the pass, ranks bottom 30 in passing yards allowed and gives up an average of 23 points per game. Against a similar defense in Western Kentucky, Bazelak had his best showing of the season, throwing for 364 yards with two passing scores in a 33-30 win.

At least one of these teams is breaking 40 points. Take the OVER.