NC State-Maryland picks: Predictions with spread, total for Duke's Mayo Bowl

The NC State Wolfpack and Maryland Terrapins meet up in the Duke's Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium on DAY in Charlotte, NC. The game kicks off at 12:00 p.m. ET, and will air on ESPN.

NC State (8-4, 4-4 ACC) enters the bowl game without star quarterback Devin Leary, who recently transferred to Kentucky. The Wolfpack entered the 2022 season surrounded by high expectations, but back-to-back November losses to Boston College and Louisville tanked their ranking. They did finish the season with an overtime win against in-state rival UNC.

The Terps (7-5, 4-5 B1G), on the other hand, overperformed in 2022. With Taulia Tagovailoa at the helm, they beat Michigan State and Indiana and gave both Michigan and Ohio State a real challenge in a season that made people take a second look at Maryland.

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: NC State -1
Total: 46.5
Moneyline: NC State -115, Maryland -105

Opening line: Maryland -1.5
Opening total: 46

Key players that have opted-out, injuries for Duke's Mayo Bowl

NC State

QB Devin Leary – Transfer portal

Maryland

DB Deonte Banks – NFL Draft
WR Dontay Demus Jr. – NFL Draft
WR Jacob Copeland – NFL Draft

Weather

52 degrees, partly cloudy, 4% chance of rain, 3 MPH winds

The Pick

Though Taulia Tagovailoa is losing a few of his favorite targets, he'll retain his top three receivers from the regular season in this matchup, while NC State will start either MJ Morris or Ben Finley at QB. This Maryland team picked up some steam toward the end of the season and finished on a huge note, shutting out Rutgers. NC State also had a big win at the end of their season, but with such a major question mark at quarterback, I see the Terps as the safer bet in this matchup.

  
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