UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State Nittany Lions are now 7-1 and on their way to face the 5-3 Maryland Terrapins in College Park on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Following their loss at Ohio State, the Lions returned home on Oct. 28 and had all they could handle from an excited and determined Indiana Hoosier team.
It was a game in which the Lions gave up two of the longest touchdown plays of the season, threw their first interception and surrendered 349 yards of offense.
Yet they still managed to prevail thanks to two stellar defensive efforts sandwiched around a 57-yard Drew Allar to KeAndre Lambert-Smith touchdown pass that put the Lions ahead with just 1:46 left to play.
The result was a 33-24 triumph that earned Penn State that 7-1 record heading into the final stretch of the season.
The first defensive stand happened after Allar’s initial interception of the season put Indiana on the PSU 21-yard line trailing by just 3 points, 24-21, with five minutes to play in the game.
Indiana hit a wall, gained just 4 yards and had to settle for the tying field goal instead of a go-ahead touchdown.
Three plays into Penn State’s ensuing drive, Allar found Smith down the right sideline with a perfect rainbow, and Smith took it into the endzone after tip-toeing inches from the out-of-bounds line.
Penn State was now ahead, 31-24, with 1:46 to play, although Indiana still had a chance.
But that chance disappeared on the Hoosiers’ first play after the kickoff. The Nittany Lion defense sacked quarterback Brendan Sorsby, knocked the ball loose and ultimately scored a safety that locked up the victory.
This week the Lions will be stepping up against a Maryland team that began the season 5-0 and that can run up yards and put points on the board in bunches.
Maryland’s first loss of the season came at Ohio State, 37-17 on Oct. 7, after the Terps had beaten Towson, Charlotte, Virginia, Michigan State (31-9) and Indiana (44-17).
Since the OSU game, Maryland fell to Illinois at home, 27-24 on Oct. 14, and Northwestern in Evanston, 33-27 on the 28th.
At Northwestern, the Wildcats scored twice to begin the fourth quarter and take a 30-20 lead, but Maryland answered with an 18-yard pass from quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa to Jeshaun Jones that made the score 33-27 with just over three minutes to play.
After a defensive stop, the Terps got the ball back on their own 41-yard line, but after an eight-play drive, Tagovailoa was intercepted inside the NU 10-yard line, essentially ending the game in a disappointing loss.
Maryland is averaging 32.6 points per game and gaining over 418 yards each time out. Of those total yards, 280 come through the air with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Tagovailoa, a 5-foot-11, 208-pound senior, has thrown for 2,200 yards this season, with all 19 touchdowns and six interceptions.
At Northwestern, he was 30-for-47 for 274 yards and three touchdowns, with that late interception.
Sophomore Roman Hemby is the leading runner, with 88 carries for 441 yards and four touchdowns, while Jones leads the receivers with 36 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, senior DB Beau Brade leads in tackles with 47, and Tarheeb Still has intercepted three passes.
Maryland’s Big Ten record stands at 2-3, with Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan and Rutgers still to play.
This game, then, looms large for Maryland. A win would make it bowl-eligible, even the conference record and set the tone for Nebraska and Michigan.
Penn State, following the close victory over Indiana, is still very much in contention in the Big Ten East, and this game will severely test the Lions on both sides of the ball.
The offense and running game will be challenged to produce, especially in light of the explosive Terrapin offense.
And the PSU defense, bruised by some big plays from Indiana, will be stretched again by the likes of Tagovailoa and Jones.
The goal, as it always is for the Lions, is to add another win after this one is all over.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by Fox.
