Oftentimes in life the path you take to a destination isn't what matters, what matters is how you reach that destination. It feels like that applies to the 2024 Penn State Nittany Lions.
Before the season started, any Nittany Lion fan would have been thrilled with Penn State earning a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game. Odds are any fan would have expected that for this to happen the Nittany Lions would have had to slay the Ohio State dragon for the first time since they last made the Big Ten Championship Game in 2016.
Well, here we are, no. 4 Penn State is now six days away from a meeting with no. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, and they earned this matchup without defeating Ohio State. When the Nittany Lions lost to the Buckeyes on the first Saturday of November, a lot of fans, and rightfully so, likely thought any chance of returning to Indianapolis were gone.
But, again, the road you travel is not always what matters. What matters is where that road leads you. It has not been a conventional road necessarily, but the road that was the 2024 regular season has led the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record, a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game, and at worst a home game in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The final stop on this road for the Nittany Lions was a dominating 44-7 victory over Maryland on Saturday. Now that we are a day removed from Penn State once again blowing out Maryland, let's get into this week's edition of day after thoughts.
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Penn State's defensive line gives them a chance against anyone
Football is often times won in the trenches. Having a great defensive line gives a team a chance to wreck any game. Penn State has a defensive line that is capable of wrecking a game on any given Saturday.
Led by Abdul Carter, who may be the best pass rusher in the country, the Nittany Lion defensive line dominated Maryland on Saturday afternoon. Dani Dennis-Sutton looked as good and explosive as he had since before he got hurt against Wisconsin, Zane Durant was once again unblockable, and Dvon J-Thomas also had a strong game.
This quartet combined for 17 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 3.5 tackles for a loss. Factor in Coziah Izzard, Amin Vanover, and Smith Vilbert, and Penn State's defensive line will give them a chance against Oregon, as well as any team they face in the College Football Playoff.
Penn State needs a healthy Trey Wallace to beat Oregon
The season long struggle of Penn State wide receivers continued in their mauling of Maryland. Omari Evans led Nittany Lion wide receivers in receptions (4) and yards (49), outside of Evans their wide receivers had just receptions for 25 yards.
If Penn State is going to upset Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, the Nittany Lions need Trey Wallace to play and do so at a high level. Wallace was listed as questionable for Saturday's game and did not play against the Terps. It's possible that the Nittany Lion staff knew they did not need Wallace to defeat Maryland, so it was not worth risking further injury. But if the Nittany Lions are going to win their first Big Ten Championship since 2016, Wallace needs to be a centerpiece of the offense on Saturday night.
Flowers once again for Tyler Warren
The Mackey Award should be gift wrapped for Tyler Warren. While he won't win the award, Warren should also be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy with a trip to New York City in his future.
Warren once again did a little bit of everything for Penn State in their victory over Maryland. He had a 9-yard pass completion to Nicholas Singelton, rushed for 32 yards which included a 29-yard rush to help prevent a big negative play for Penn State, and caught 6 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
What a season for Warren. He has set the Penn State career receptions (130) and touchdowns (17) record for tight ends. In the Big Ten Championship Game, he'll break the conference record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end. In what may have been his Beaver Stadium swan song, Warren showed why he deserves to be remembered as one of the best players in program history.
Nicholas Singleton looks healthy
After getting dinged against Illinois in late September, Nicholas Singleton has been battling injury issues. In recent weeks he has slowly and surely appeared to be rounding back into form health wise. Against Maryland, Singelton looked the healthiest and most explosive he has since before the injury.
After fumbling on the first play from scrimmage, Singleton quickly bounced back with a 66-yard kick off return he nearly returned for a touchdown. He averaged 6.7 yards per rush and had 3 receptions for 17 yards.
Singelton looked explosive and showed an ability to turn on a different gear to run past defenders. What may have been most encouraging, was Singleton showing an ability to lower his shoulder and run over defenders. That is something he has struggled with since getting hurt against Illinois. This was on full display on his 4th quarter touchdown run. Having a health Singleton for the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff is a huge boost for the Nittany Lions.
There's still no lone loss between James Franklin and Mike Locksley
There is no secret when it comes to James Franklin's feelings about the University of Maryland. Between how things were handled when he was the head coach in waiting and Ralph Friedgen was fired, then the handshake snub of 2014, Franklin is not a fan of Maryland.
There is also seemingly some hard feelings between Franklin and Maryland head coach Mike Locksley. Well, Saturday afternoon all of that was on display once again and it was highlighted by the exchange between the two during their postgame handshake.
Locksley told Franklin that Beau Pribula's touchdown pass to Tyseer Denmark on the final snap of regulation was "bull shit." Franklin explained what Penn State was doing in that situation to Locksley, but Locksley did not appear to be accepting of the answer.
Outside of the COVID year, Franklin and Penn State have not lost to Maryland since 2014. Not only have the Nittany Lions regularly beaten the Terps, they have regularly blown them out. Taking out the COVID season, Penn State has gone 9-0 against Maryland since 2014 while outscoring the Terps 388-86. That's an average final score of 43-9. With Locksley as Maryland's coach, the total score has been 215-42, an average final score of 43-8.
Again, there is no love lost there.
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