Michigan State takes on Maryland in first Big Ten conference game for new coach Jonathan Smith

Michigan State (1-0) at Maryland (1-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Maryland by 9 1/2.

Series record: Michigan State leads 10-4.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

It’s the Big Ten opener for new Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith, and his team will hope to show more offensively than it did in a 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic. Maryland looked plenty sharp in its 50-7 win over UConn, but the Terrapins have to show they can take care of business at home as a significant favorite.

KEY MATCHUP

Michigan State’s red zone offense against Maryland’s defense. The Spartans had four red zone trips in their opener, but came away with no points on three of them.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Michigan State: RB Kay’ron Lynch-Adams. He ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on nine carries last week, becoming the fourth straight transfer running back to rush for at least 100 in his debut for the Spartans.

Maryland: WR Tai Felton. He had seven catches for 178 yards and two TDs in the opener. That was the most yards receiving for the Terps in a game since D.J. Moore had 210 in 2017.

FACTS & FIGURES

Maryland had 629 yards of offense last week, surpassing 375 passing and 200 rushing for the third time in the last 25 seasons. ... Michigan State had seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss and two interceptions against FAU. ... This is the first conference game for any Big Ten teams this season and the earliest conference matchup for Maryland since 2011, when it was in the ACC. ... Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles started his first college game last week after transferring from Oregon State. ... Maryland QB Billy Edwards Jr. is 4-0 as a starter. He threw for 311 yards and two TDs against UConn.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25