Maryland football dismantled by Penn State in 51-15 loss
A season that began with championship aspirations spiraled further into free fall Saturday when the Maryland football team lost, 51-15, to visiting Penn State, leaving the Terrapins still in need of another win to secure bowl eligibility amid a slide that entered its second month.
In dropping a fourth consecutive game, the Terrapins (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) finished with minus-49 yards rushing, committed four turnovers, yielded six sacks and never came close to threatening at SECU Stadium, where mostly Nittany Lions faithful clad in white remained in the twilight to witness the closing minutes.
“They were able to have their way with us today,” Maryland Coach Michael Locksley said after his team’s most lopsided result of the year. “Obviously, we struggled to run the ball today. Give some credit to Penn State’s front. They are as advertised, but I don’t think they’re 51-15 better. I don’t think we played to our potential, and when you don’t play to your potential, the first place you look is at me, and I have no problem in owning that.”
The outcome became all but certain early in the fourth quarter after Penn State capped an 88-yard touchdown drive with a 15-yard pass from quarterback Drew Allar to wide receiver Dante Cephas, extending its lead to 31-7.
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Maryland added a cosmetic touchdown several minutes later before redshirt senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw an interception and lost a fumble as No. 11 Penn State (8-1, 5-1) piled on. The Terrapins fell to 2-21 at home in November and December since 2011, and their record against ranked Big Ten opponents since joining the conference in 2014 reached 0-33.
Tagovailoa finished 29 for 39 for 286 yards and two touchdowns, setting a career high with 17 consecutive completions to start the game. That opening streak also tied him with South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler for the longest this year in major college football.
But the vast majority of the highlights belonged to Penn State, which amassed 404 yards of total offense, including 158 rushing, and continued its recent supremacy over the Terrapins in College Park. Maryland has lost the past four home games in the series by an average margin of nearly 44 points.
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The Nittany Lions scored points on their last five possessions of the game.
“Only thing you can do is keep playing, keep playing hard, keep motivating people, make sure we stay together,” Maryland defensive end Donnell Brown said. “I think the only thing about us is just figuring out who we are and looking in the mirror, especially after a loss like this.”
Maryland kept the game close deep into the first half before defensive miscues contributed to Penn State’s touchdown that grew its lead to 21-7 with 2:34 remaining in the second quarter. Allar capped the 75-yard drive with an eight-yard scoring throw to tight end Tyler Warren, who caught the ball in between safety Beau Brade and cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard.
Maryland permitted a pair of third-down conversions during the series. The second of those came on third and eight from the Maryland 20 with no Terrapins defenders in striking distance of Cephas, permitting the redshirt senior to gather an uncontested reception for 14 yards to set up first and goal at the 6.
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Maryland had built momentum on its previous possession, holding the ball for more than seven minutes before scoring its first points when Tagovailoa eluded pressure in the backfield and delivered a seven-yard touchdown throw to running back Roman Hemby. The sophomore caught the pass at the 4 and broke the plane, trimming the deficit to 14-7 with 7:59 left until halftime.
The 13-play drive covering 75 yards included a roughing-the-kicker call against Penn State’s Liam Clifford on punter Colton Spangler, allowing Maryland to extend the possession.
“We’re still together,” said Terrapins wide receiver Tai Felton, who had four catches for 75 yards. “As you can see we’re still out there playing ball. We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board. There’s really not much to it. We’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better myself.”
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A trick play had expanded Penn State’s advantage to 14-0 with two seconds to go in the first quarter.
The play began with Allar lining up three yards directly behind center but moving left into the slot, allowing Beau Pribula, the Nittany Lions’ backup quarterback who entered for the first time on the previous play, to take the snap. Pribula then gently tossed the ball back to Allar, who scrambled and flicked a three-yard pass to tight end Theo Johnson for a touchdown.
Maryland linebacker Kellan Wyatt had his arms around Allar’s feet but could not bring the sophomore to the ground before he released the ball awkwardly into the front middle portion of the end zone.
“I don’t see anyone in that locker room quitting,” Locksley said. “We’re obviously facing adversity as a program, and the only way to get out of it is to work. And our guys have continued to give us the work Monday through Friday, but we just have not played well or executed on Saturday, and I’ve got to find a way to get us to play next Saturday.”
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