Northwestern plays Maryland under the Friday night lights at SECU Stadium on a short week after a 41-24 loss to Indiana. The Terps also lost to the Hoosiers, but their defeat was two weeks ago, when they came up with four turnovers but still lost to the Hoosiers, 42-28, and they are coming off of a bye week.

This game is a tipping point for two teams with extremely difficult second-half schedules that want to keep their dreams of a bowl game alive.

Northwestern's offensive struggles doomed them in losses to Duke and at Washington, but they showed progress against Indiana and want to keep that momentum up for young starting quarterback Jack Lausch. On the other hand, the Wildcats' normally stingy defense had their first face plant of the season, allowing 529 yards to the red-hot Hoosiers.

Maryland has new quarterback of their own this season in Billy Edwards Jr., who is taking over for all-time leading passer Taulia Tagovailoa. Edwards, who beat Northwestern as a substitute starter back in 2022, has Maryland at 3-2 and ranks fourth in the Big Ten in passing yards. The Terrapins are 11-point favorites in this matchup.

Can the Wildcats overcome the double-digit spread on the road on a short week? WildcatReport's staff weighs in.

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I'm doubling down on the Wildcats as a double-digit underdog, even though my upset pick over Indiana ended up astray. Northwestern hasn't put together a complete game against an FBS opponent but each side of the ball has now shown real potential and I think they put it all together. Even with four turnovers, the Terps allowed 48 points to Indiana. They lost to Michigan State and gave up 20 to FCS program Villanova.

This a defense that can be exploited and Lausch has just the right momentum behind him. Northwestern under head coach David Braun has been defined by its comebacks, and I think they'll get right up off the mat after Indiana. The Hoosiers have a unique value proposition with Kurtis Rourke and their RPO game. The Wildcats have otherwise done a solid job this season against adept pocket passers, limiting Duke and Maalik Murphy to 13 points in regulation and Washington and Will Rogers III to 24.

I think they bow up and keep Maryland winless in the Big Ten this season.

Fearless Forecast: Northwestern 28, Maryland 24

I like the Wildcats in this one, point spread be damned. Lausch and the offense seemed to turn a corner last week, and you have to think the defense will get back to its old self after getting shredded by the buzzsaw that is Indiana's ofense.

Maryland gives up a lot of yards through the air, ranking 120th in the country. But I still think Northwestern needs to establish Cam Porter and the running game to win this one. Then, they can hit them with some play-action passes.

Defensively, the Wildcats will stick to their MO: bottle up Roman Hemby on the ground to make the Terps one-dimensional, and then put pressure on Edwards. And you can bet the Cats will shade their safety help to the side of Tai Felton, the No. 1 receiver in the Big Ten.

The Terrapins, as usual, have some skill position players to be concerned about, but their defense is very suspect. The clincher for me, though, is this stat: Maryland head coach Mike Locksley is 0-5 in his career in College Park coming off of a bye week. That's some bad mojo.

Fearless Forecast: Northwestern 24, Maryland 21