COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Penn State leaned and leaned and leaned on Maryland over the course of Saturday afternoon, and early in the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions finally broke the Terrapins. Running back Kaytron Allen took a handoff out of the "T" formation, ran left and powered and pushed his way all the way into the end zone for the Penn State's fifth touchdown of the night to make it a three-score game. Maryland was simply overpowered.
Once again, the Nittany Lions visited a sold-out SECU Stadium and put on a show against the Terrapins. Penn State scored another victory in a lopsided series with a 51-15 victory over Maryland in College Park, Md. It was a one score game midway through the second quarter. It never was again by halftime.
No. 9 Penn State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) used a high-level performance from quarterback Drew Allar, a dominant defensive outing in a bounce-back spot and an overall talent advantage to outmuscle Maryland (5-4, 2-4) and set up next week's highly anticipated matchup with Michigan at Beaver Stadium.
Allar completed 25 of 34 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns, while Allen supplied support on the ground with 14 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith once again carried the load for a passing attack missing wide receiver Harrison Wallace with eight catches for 95 yards, while wide receiver Dante Cephas had his best game as a Nittany Lion with six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Tyler Warren added four key catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.
The Penn State defense held the Maryland offense to 234 total yards, including minus-49 rushing yards. Much of that was sack yardage, as the Nittany Lions took down Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa six times. Tagovailoa finished the game 29-of-39 for 286 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He completed his first 17 passes of the game. Overall, the Nittany Lions forced four turnovers, including three in the fourth quarter. But even adjusted for sacks, Maryland recorded minus-2 yards rushing and averaged minus-0.2 yards per carry.
Here's a look at some of the top performances from Saturday's outing.
TURNING POINT: Dante Cephas gets Penn State on the board.
The Penn State defense held in the first quarter, and the Penn State offense was able to take advantage of it. Maryland had a fourth-and-1 from its own 45 on the opening drive of the game, and Tagovailoa attempted to hit tight end Corey Dyches on the left side for a short pass. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs and safety Jaylen Reed read the play perfectly and crashed down to stop Dyches behind the line and turn the Terps over.
The Penn State offense went to work with good field position. Allar completed a pass to Lambert-Smith on third-and-3 to move the chains, and then Allen rushed for 13 yards to get the Nittany Lions into the red zone. And then one of the Nittany Lions who’s been quiet this year stepped up in.
Allar lofted a pass to the right side of the end zone, and Cephas tracked it to pull it in and get one foot inbounds. The pass was initially ruled incomplete, but the ruling was reversed after review. Cephas, who entered Saturday with 11 catches for 146 yards, had his first touchdown as a Nittany Lion, and Penn State was able to take advantage of a stop to take a 7-0 lead.
OFFENSIVE GAME BALL: Quarterback Drew Allar
Allar enjoyed one his best games as a collegiate quarterback against the Terrapins on Saturday. The sophom*ore looked relaxed and assertive with his throws, and for the most, part his receivers helped his cause. Allar finished the game 25-of-34 passing for 240 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions. He also showcased his legs, which he hadn’t done much earlier this season with four carries for 39 yards.
Allar made a number of high-level throws. His 8-yard touchdown to Warren late in the first half stood out where Allar placed the ball where only Warren could get it, and the throw was a laser. After struggling against Ohio State and for most of Indiana, Allar looked like the quarterback who was promised.
DEFENSIVE GAME BALL: Defensive end Adisa Isaac
Penn State was without pass-rusher Chop Robinson on Saturday, and without the Maryland transfer, the pressure was going to be on the rest of the pass rushers against a pass-heavy Terps passing attack. Isaac, the redshirt senior, showed up. He forced a fumble in the first quarter when he hit Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton, and he later sacked Tagovailoa on a third down. Overall, Isaac finished with three tackles. He has a career-high 6.5 sacks on the season, and he’s playing his way up NFL draft boards.
SPECIAL TEAMS GAME BALL: Kickoff specialist Gabe Nwosu
Punter Gabe Nwosu got a decent amount of work against Maryland as kickoff specialist with eight of his 10 kickoffs going for touchbacks. Nwosu has added a level of consistency to that position, which he won this offseason and has held onto. Nwosu said earlier in the week that his big focus, and it’s something that he’s worked on in the offseason. Through nine games, 66.1% of his kickoffs have gone for touchbacks. The one that didn’t was a kickoff from his own 20 after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that bounced out of bounds inside the Maryland five yard line.
Saturday’s game was also a homecoming for Nwosu, who is from Derwood, Md., and attended Potomac (Md.) Bullis School for high school.
“It means the world to me,” Nwosu said Tuesday. “Playing in front of my home crowd [is] something I've been waiting to do for a little bit of time. I can't wait to do it. Just focus on being 1-0 this week, though, just not making this more than what it is. Just got to find a way to win, and that's all it is.”
TURNING POINT: Penn State responds to Maryland’s touchdown.
Maryland took advantage of a host of Penn State mistakes — wide receiver Liam Clifford was called for roughing the kicker on a punt, cornerback Johnny Dixon picked up a personal foul later in the drive — to put together a 13-play, 75-yard drive in the second quarter that ended when Tagovailoa hit running back Roman Hemby for a seven-yard touchdown pass up the left side that cut the game to 14-7.
When the Nittany Lions got the ball back, though, they went to work. Allar piloted Penn State on an 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended with his eight-yard touchdown pass to Warren. Along with way, Allar had a 21-yard run up the middle on third-and-4 and hit Warren for a 14-yard gain. He had another 14-yard completion to Cephas on third-and-8 to set up Warren’s touchdown.
OFFENSIVE GAME BALL: Wide receiver Dante Cephas
There might be something about College Park for Cephas. Two years ago, the wide receiver had 10 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown with Kent State in a losing effort against Maryland. He entered Saturday’s game with only 11 catches for 146 yards in eight games, but he finally found the breakout performance many had been awaiting. Cephas caught six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his grabs, from six and 15 yards, involved beautiful throws from Allar and difficult catches by Cephas in the end zone near the sideline. If the light is going on for Cephas, then it adds another dimension to the Penn State offense for the November stretch run.
DEFENSIVE GAME BALL: Linebacker Abdul Carter
Linebacker Abdul Carter was expected to be an impact player on the Penn State defense this season, and he had the opportunity to become one of the nation’s best linebackers. But Carter had been quiet for much of the fall, and the splash players had been few and far between. He entered Saturday with 29 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, two pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.
Against Maryland, though, Carter looked more like the linebacker that many expected to see. He had a team-high six tackles (four solo), one sack, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. He looked quicker and he was playing with a level of violence that seemed to have been missing. He’s another player where if this travels, Penn State is in good shape for the stretch run.
SPECIAL TEAMS GAME BALL: Kicker Alex Felkins
After a shaky start to the season, Penn State needed stability at the kicker position, and Columbia transfer Alex Felkins has supplied that. Felkins enjoyed another clean outing for the Nittany Lions in the win over Maryland. He made six point after attempts and a field goals from 30, 35 and 39 yards in another impressive showing.
TURNING POINT: The Pribula package makes its debut.
Over the course of the season, Franklin had teased the possibility of using backup quarterback Beau Pribula during the run of play, and recently, he brought up using both Allar and Pribula on the field together. And in the first quarter that came to fruition. On second-and-goal from the three, Pribula came onto the field and Allar exited. Pribula attempted to get the ball into the end zone and was stopped after a gain of one. On third-and-goal from the two, Allar returned to the field andPribularemained.
Allar lined up split left with Pribula deep to take the snap. Allar ran right and took a flip from Pribula and then was looking to pass, but his initial read wasn’t open. He stopped, was under pressure and flipped the ball to tight end Theo Johnson for a two-yard touchdown pass. That made the score 14-0 late in the first quarter, and it gave Michigan something else to prepare for.
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@paramount.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen and Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen.
