COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WHTM) – The No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions will travel to Maryland to face the Terrapins at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 4.

Penn State has dominated Maryland historically, owning a 38-3-1 record against the Terrapins.

The last time the Nittany Lions lost to Maryland was in 2020 on the road. Last season, however, Penn State shut out Maryland in a dominating 30-0 victory.

Last time out

Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten)

The Nittany Lions bounced back from their first loss of the season on Oct. 21 to Ohio State with a 33-24 victory over Indiana at home.

Drew Allar was 20 for 31 with 210 yards and three touchdowns in the contest. Allar threw his first interception of the season and was sacked three times while rushing for 50 yards.

The top receiver of the game was KeAndre Lambert-Smith with six receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown. Kaytron Allen led the rushing game with 81 positive yards, but Nick Singleton earned the sole rushing touchdown.

Penn State’s defense held Indiana to just 27% on third-down attempts and posted three sacks. Jaylen Reed, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Johnny Dixon and Daequan Hardy each had a tackle for loss. Reed put up a team-high 8 tackles (7 solo).

Maryland (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten)

Maryland is on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling to Northwestern 27-33 on Oct. 28.

Taulia Tagovailoa had a 64% pass completion percentage for 274 yards and three touchdowns in the showing. The redshirt senior threw one interception and was sacked six times.

The top rusher for Maryland was running back Colby McDonald who gained 43 yards for the Terrapins. Wide receiver Jeshaun Jones led the receivers with nine receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown.

On the other side of the ball, Maryland held Northwestern to just 2 for 10 on third down. Defensive back Beau Brade was on top with eight tackles (six solo) and Tre’Darius Colbert led the team with two sacks.

Dissecting Maryland

Maryland is fourth in the East Division of the Big Ten and is 4-1 at home. The Terrapins are under the guidance of Head Coach Michael Locksley.

This is Locksley’s third time serving in the coaching system with the Terps. Locksley has spent half of his 30-year coaching career with the Terrapins. In 2018 he was named the Head Coach of Maryland, his second head coaching stint in his career, becoming the 37th head coach in program history.

Locksley’s only other head coaching job was with New Mexico from 2009-2011. Locksley worked under Nick Saban at the University of Alabama for three seasons before joining Maryland, earning the 2018 Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.

Maryland’s redshirt senior quarterback Tagovailoa has broken almost all of the program records. The brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Taulia ranks first in career passing yards (9805), single-season passing yards (3,860 in 2021), and career completions (824).

This season Tagovailoa is averaging a 64% pass completion percentage with six interceptions. Tagovailoa has totaled 2200 passing yards with 23 touchdowns so far.

Running back Roman Hemby has led the rushing game this season, contributing 441 yards and four touchdowns for the Terrapins. Wide receivers Jones and Kaden Prather are the top Terrapin receivers; Jones has had 36 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns and Prather has posted 426 yards off 30 receptions with five touchdowns.

Brade leads the defense in tackles with 47 (28 solo). Linebacker Kellan Wyatt tops the team with 3.5 sacks this season.

The defense has held opponents to 20.38 points per game and a 33.02% success rate on third-down conversions.