10/31/2023 football Edit

Penn State Football opponent first look: Maryland Terrapins Edition

Dub Jellison • Happy Valley Insider

Staff Writer

After narrowly escaping what would have been a monumental upset against Indiana on Saturday afternoon, Penn State shifts its focus to another Big Ten East battle, as it goes on the road to play Maryland in week ten.

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Oct 28, 2023; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley (center) on the sidelines during the second half at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports (© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports)

Game/broadcast details:

Where: College Park, Maryland

Stadium: SECU Stadium (Official capacity of 51,802)

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Television: FOX (Broadcast team has not been disclosed at this time)

Odds via Yahoo Sportsbook: Penn State -450 favorite (-10.5 point spread), over/under is 50.5.

The sputtering Terrapins....

Mike Locksley and Maryland were on the cusp of a breakthrough campaign in 2023, starting the year 5-0 with wins over Virginia, Michigan State and Indiana heading into a big time matchup with Ohio State. The Buckeyes stopped that momentum in its tracks, similar to Penn State’s fate in Columbus two weeks ago.

The Terrapins have been unable to recover from their first defeat of the season, however. Maryland has now lost three straight, including back-to-back games against a pair of Big Ten teams with losing records at the time (Illinois and Northwestern). Once viewed as potentially the top team outside of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the Big Ten, the Terps have now slid to the middle of the pack at 5-3 and a 2-3 mark in conference play.

The Taulia Tagovailoa led offense has also taken a step back during the three-game skid, failing to reach the 30 point threshold since the calendar turned to October, which was something the group had accomplished in each of its first five outings.

Brian Williams’ defense has also struggled over the last month, surrendering 32.3 points per game in the three consecutive defeats. The group had improved to start 2023, allowing just 13.2 across the prior five games. Granted, those numbers were against inferior opponents.

Maryland trending in the wrong direction could be just what the doctor ordered for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions, who were shaky in their victory over Indiana last week.

Domination of the series....

It has been a one-sided affair between the two Big Ten East programs in favor of the Nittany Lions. Penn State holds a 38-3-1 advantage over Maryland in the all-time series, but the Terps have found a small amount of success in the James Franklin era.

Franklin’s first season in Happy Valley lined up with Maryland’s debut year in the Big Ten (2014). Since the series resumed with their first meeting in 21 years, Penn State holds a 7-2 record over the now conference foe, all with Franklin at the helm.

The two losses over that time came during two of the worst seasons in the Nittany Lions head coach’s tenure. The first came in the midst of his first year on the job, when Penn State went 7-6 and the other was the 4-5 season of 2020. Coincidentally, both came at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State will look to extend its winning streak to three over the reeling Terrapins on Saturday afternoon.

A chance to get back on track....

The Nittany Lions may have had a case of the hangovers on Saturday afternoon on the heels of a disappointing loss to Ohio State the week prior, coming out slow against the Hoosiers. Penn State avoided one of the biggest upsets of the college football season behind the late game heroics of Drew Allar and KeAndre Lambert-Smith with less than two minutes to play.

Allowing a season-high point total to the second worst offense in the Big Ten, something not even the Buckeyes could accomplish, and going through some offensive struggles over the last two weeks have the Nittany Lions looking to get back on track against Maryland this weekend.

That would be much-needed for Penn State’s chances at a potential College Football Playoff appearance, which is not off the table just yet. The Nittany Lions will have to win out and hope for some things to bounce their way around the country for that to happen, but it is still in the realm of possibility, for now.

All of that would be a moot point if Franklin and company don’t take care of business against Maryland on Saturday afternoon.