Maryland football heads to State College this weekend to take on No. 14 Penn State, looking to bounce back after an atrocious performance its last time out.
Following the bye two weeks ago, the Terps entered their matchup against Wisconsin healthy, with the returns of quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and linebackers Jaishawn Barham and Ruben Hyppolite.
Yet, Maryland suffered through its worst performance of the season against the Badgers. For the first time all season, the Terps failed to put up 27 points. They only scored 10 — with the lone touchdown coming in the final minute of the game — as they fell to the Badgers, 23-10.
The task doesn’t get any easier for the Terps this weekend, taking on a Nittany Lions squad that’s ranked in the top 15 in both the Associated Press and College Football Playoff polls.
“Penn State, obviously [a] very good team, [a] ranked opponent … it’s not a rivalry game,” coach Mike Locksley said. “I told our team there’s no such thing, this is not a rivalry game. Obviously we have to compete a little better to get it to that point, but right now they’re a regional team that’s really close that comes into our area to recruit … other than that its Penn State vs. Maryland.”
Locksley will need his guys to have a much better showing on the field against Penn State than they had against Wisconsin, specifically the offense.
Given the sloppy weather conditions, offensive coordinator Dan Enos elected to use the ground game early and often. However, the results weren’t there. Maryland ran the ball 41 times at just 2.7 yards per carry clip — the worst mark in any game this season for the Terps.
The passing game didn’t fare much better, as Tagovailoa completed just 10 of 23 passes for 77 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was also sacked five times.
The performance from Maryland’s signal caller was his worst of the season, as Tagovailoa has played well besides that outing. Even with the poor game against the Badgers, Tagovailoa ranks top-five in the Big Ten in yards (2078), passing efficiency (150.5), completion percentage (69.9) and touchdowns (14).
Tagovailoa will face one of the top pass defenses in the conference, as the Nittany Lions rank in the top-five in the Big Ten in opposing passing efficiency (108.7), opponent completion percentage (53.7), sacks (23), interceptions (10), and opponent passing touchdowns (eight).
“They’re really good up front and they’ve got a lot of experience in the secondary,” Tagovailoa said. “They do a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback.”
Tagovailoa has done a good job of spreading the wealth on offense, as four Terps enter with over 300 receiving yards: Corey Dyches, Rakim Jarrett, Jacob Copeland and Jeshaun Jones.
Penn State enters following a 45-14 pummeling over Indiana its last time out.
The Nittany Lions got out to a 24-7 lead at halftime and didn’t look back, as three rushing touchdowns from freshman backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton put Penn State in control within the first 30 minutes.
Fifth year quarterback Sean Clifford struggled against Indiana, as he threw an interception and did not record a touchdown. Freshman Drew Allar entered in the third quarter and looked sharp. Allar finished 9-12 for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
The Maryland defense will have its hands full with the Penn State offense, as the Nittany Lions average the third-most yards per game (436.7) and have scored the third-most touchdowns (40) in the Big Ten.
While it’s not considered a rivalry game — Penn State is 41-3-1 all-time against Maryland — there is an added bit of zest for the Terps ahead of this weekend.
“A lot of the guys are from around here and a lot of the guys know each other … I feel like that adds the juice to it,” Jones said.
While it hasn’t met the true criteria for a rivalry, Locksley’s Terps won their last time in State College. In a shortened 2020 season, Maryland dropped the Nittany Lions, 35-19. In a matchup that always sees heightened emotions, a few more wins on the Terps side could create a full-fledged, state-border rivalry.
“There’s definitely a little extra juice, coach is right it’s definitely not a rivalry, for it to be a rival we have to win against them more, but definitely brings extra juice, extra excitement,” Hyppolite said.
The game on Saturday will start at 3:30 p.m. and will take place at Beaver Stadium in University Park.
