Penn State (11-1, 8-1) dominated Maryland (4-8, 1-8) 44-7 on Saturday at Beaver Stadium to close out the regular season and earn an unlikely berth in the Big Ten Championship Game.
With Ohio State suffering its second conference defeat in a loss to Michigan, Penn State will face Oregon for the Big Ten title next Saturday in Indianapolis. The Nittany Lions held a tie-breaker advantage over fellow one-loss team Indiana by virtue of a higher winning percentage among conference opponents.
After an inauspicious start that saw Maryland capitalize on an early turnover and jump out to an early lead, Penn State took control, reeling off 44 unanswered points.
Tight end Tyler Warren continued his historic season, setting records for career receptions (130) and touchdowns (17) by a Penn State tight end. Warren caught six passes for 68 yards, ran three times for 32 yards and passed once for 9 yards.
Nick Singleton led the Penn State rushing attack with 13 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns. QB Drew Allar was 17-26 for 176 yards and two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).
The swarming Nittany Lion defense recorded three interceptions (Audavion Collins, Tony Rojas and Dejuan Lane) and six sacks. Abdul Carter led the way with six tackles, two sacks and a QB hurry. Fellow defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton had three tackles, a sack and three hurries.
Up next, the Nittany Lions meet the Ducks for the Big Ten championship at 8 p.m. on Dec. 7 in Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will air on CBS.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Disaster struck for Penn State on the game’s opening play as running back Nick Singleton fumbled at the Nittany Lion 25 and Maryland recovered. The Terrapins immediately capitalized with backup QB M.J. Morris finding wide receiver Kaden Prather in the end zone for the quick score. Just 14 seconds into the game, Maryland had a 7-0 lead.
Singleton made up for the turnover on the ensuing kickoff, returning it 66 yards to the Maryland 32. The Penn State offense, however, couldn’t do much and Kaytron Allen lost 6 yards on third down, and Ryan Barker came on to make a career-long 49-yard field goal that narrowed the Terps’ lead to 7-3 with 13:01 to go in the first quarter.
While the Nittany Lion defense turned up the pressure, forcing punts on the Terps’ next three possessions, Penn State’s offense remained stagnant on consecutive drives. Late in the opening period, though, the Nittany Lions began to put together some momentum.
Keyed by a 20-yard pass from Drew Allar to tight end Tyler Warren, Penn State advanced to the red zone as the first quarter ended.
2ND QUARTER
Penn State opened the second quarter with a fourth-and-1 conversion at the 20. After a pass from Allar to Warren got the Nittany Lions to the 5 and a pass interference call against Maryland, Singleton punched it in from 2 yards out. The 13-play, 60-yard drive moved Penn State in front for the first time on the day with a 10-7 lead at the 12:53 mark of the second.
Facing fourth and 1 from its own 30 on its next possession, Maryland attempted a run up the middle that was stuffed by Abdul Carter and Tyrece Mills to give Penn State the ball in Terp territory.
Allar connected with tight end Khalil Dinkins for 23 yards down the sideline and 6-yard Allen gain put the Nittany Lions on the doorstep. Allar pushed it in from there and Penn State extended its lead to 17-7 with 10:11 left in the half.
The Penn State defense forced another three-and-out, and the Nittany Lion offense kept rolling. Warren took a dump-off from Allar on a broken play, then hurdled and broke tackles for a 29-yard gain to the Maryland 22. Consecutive Singleton runs took Penn State to the goal line, and backup QB Beau Pribula took it in for the score on a keeper as the Nittany Lion lead grew to 24-7 with seven minutes remaining in the second.
An interception by Nittany Lion cornerback Audavion Collins at the Terps’ 46 quickly had the Penn State offense back in Maryland territory. Allar hit Omari Evans for a 24-yard gain into the red zone and two plays later found Warren open for the touchdown. With the score, Warren set a Penn State record for career touchdowns by a tight end with 17 and Penn State grew its lead to 31-7 with 1:46 left in the half.
Three Morris completions and an unnecessary roughness penalty against Jaylen Reed helped Maryland get to the Penn State 23. But Nittany Lion linebacker Tony Rojas picked off a Morris pass at the 9 to end the threat and Penn State took its 24-point lead into the locker room.
3RD QUARTER
Maryland moved to midfield on the opening drive of the second half, but an Abdul Carter sack on second down paved the way for Penn State to force another punt.
Starting from its own 15, the Nittany Lion offense put together a drive of more than six minutes but stalled at the Maryland 44 and Penn State was forced to punt.
Defensive pressure again shut down the Terps, this time with end Dani Dennis-Sutton sacking Maryland QB Champ Long on third down.
Penn State took over again after a punt at its own 48. From there it was the Singleton show as the third quarter wound down, with the running back taking three carries for 28 yards to get the Nittany Lions near the red zone entering the final 15 minutes.
4TH QUARTER
Singleton continued to carry the drive as the final quarter began, catching a 3-yard pass from Allar then breaking off an 18-yard touchdown run. The Nittany Lions widened their lead to 38-7 with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
With the game firmly in control, Penn State fielded a host of backups and freshmen the rest of the way. Maryland managed one more drive into Penn State territory, but true freshman safety Dejuan Lane picked off a Morris pass and returned it 54 yards to the Maryland 13.
On the game’s final play, Pribula threw to Tyseer Denmark in the end zone for the freshman receiver’s first career touchdown. The score rounded out a 44-7 victory that sealed Penn State’s spot in the Big Ten Championship Game next weekend.
