Penn State's big rushing day leads to blowout win over Maryland
State College, PA - A tremendous day on the ground from Penn State's offense totaling 249 rushing yards led the way to a win for the Nittany Lions over the Maryland Terrapins.
The explosive young running back duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 195 of Penn State's 249 rushing yards while the Nittany Lions' defense teed off on Maryland's offensive line to the tune of seven sacks and nine tackels for a loss
From the opening snap of the game, it was clear what type of day it was going to be for Penn State. The Nittany Lions' defense set the tone forcing a three-and-out on the Terrapins' first drive, the first of # three-and-outs in the win.
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The offense wouldn't take long to follow up, going 47 yards over nine plays in 4:28 to open up the scoring midway through the first quarter. On that first drive, Penn State starting quarterback Sean Clifford surpassed former Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley at the top of the program's record book for passing yards.
Just a few plays after breaking the record, Clifford would find tight end Brenton Strange in the endzone for a three-yard touchdown, the 79th passing touchdown of the Cincinnati (OH) natives' career.
Later in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions would extend their lead to double-digits. On fourth and two from the Terrapins' 45-yard line, Nicholas Singleton would receive a handoff from the t-formation and quickly hit on the right side of the Nittany Lions' offensive line.
As soon as the Shillington (PA) native and hit the hole as if he was shot out of a cannon, there was no Terrapin who came close to stopping him as he took it all 45-yards for the score. It was the ninth touchdown of his freshman campaign. The touchdown also put the exclamation point on the first quarter that was dominated by the Nittany Lions in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the Nittany Lions ran the ball with force, 12 carries for 105 yards, an average of 8.8 yards per carry. Singleton had seven of those totaling 86 yards. Defensively, the Nittany Lions were pouncing on Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, consisting putting him under pressure on each dropback while getting to him two times for the sack. The Nittany Lions' defense allowed just three total yards over 12 plays in the first quarter.
Maryland would receive some deja vu midway through the second quarter, on a fourth-and-one from Maryland's 27-yard line, the Nittany Lions once again lined up in the T-formation. The result? Another handoff to Nicholas Singleton who would break through the line, and run through several would-be tacklers en route to putting the Nittany Lions up three scores midway through the second quarter.
That lead would be extended twice in the final minutes of the first half as well thanks to two Jake Pinegar field goals from 50-yards and 46-yards respectively. Marking his sixth and seventh consecutive field goals. He's also hit field goals from 50 or more yards in back-to-back games.
It was a first half that was nothing short of complete domination by the Nittany Lions. Their offense outgained Maryland 296 to 27 including 190 rushing yards and an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Defensively, the defensive line treated Maryland's offensive line like ragdolls, throwing them to the side consistently, totaling five sacks and seven tackles for a loss.
Despite the near four-touchdown lead, Sean Clifford would start the second half for the Nittany Lions. He would lead the offense to one more scoring drive, resulting in Pinegar's third of the day, a chip shot to put the Nittany Lions up 30-0 midway through the third quarter.
That would be the final drive for Clifford on the day, a performance that overall left more to be desired but saw him become Penn State's all-time passing leader as well as eclipse the 10,000 career passing yards mark. He finished his day 12-for-23 for 139 yards and one touchdown.
Drew Allar would take over on the Nittany Lions' next possession, taking the snaps at quarterback over the last 19 minutes of the game. Allar would only see a few series before third-string quarterback Christian Veilleux had a series of his own. The Nittany Lions' choosing to mostly go conservative in the second half wouldn't score again but still cruised to victory. The Nittany Lions' defense allowed a mere 134 total yards in the game, keeping the Terrapins to just 2.2 yards per play in the game.
The 30-0 victory would also mark the first shutout of the Manny Diaz era and the Nittany Lions' first since November 20 of last season, a 28-0 win over Rutgers. It also is the first time a Penn State defense has kept opposing offenses to 200 yards or fewer in back-to-back games since 2007 when the Nittany Lions did so against Florida International and Notre Dame.
The win is Penn State's eighth of the season and second in a row after defeating Indiana 45-14 last weekend in Bloomington. They'll look to pick up win No.9 of the season next Saturday against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights who are coming off their third-straight loss, a 27-21 defeat in East Lansing against Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights are 4-6 overall this season but 1-6 in conference play.
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