Highs & Lows: Maryland

There have been plenty of ups and downs over the past seven years, but there haven't been many days that felt as low as Saturday for Nittany Lion fans.

After defeating Maryland 59-0 in 2019 and 38-3 in 2018, James Franklin and his team suffered one of their worst losses in recent memory, losing to Maryland 35-21. The final score looks much closer than the game really was, as Mike Locksley and his team won in every facet of the game.

BWI editor Nate Bauer recaps all the highs and lows below:

PLAYER OF THE GAME In no danger of losing a substantial and commanding 35-13 lead, Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa saw his stat line diminish in garbage time, but he still finished 18 of 26 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, He also had a bulletproof quarterback rating of 198.4. Tagovailoa gave Penn State’s listless defense fits all night, to which it had absolutely no answers.

PLAY OF THE GAME To act as though Maryland’s win Saturday afternoon hinged on any individual play would be borderline delusional. From Rakim Jarrett’s crossing-route touchdown to open the game, Penn State’s complete inability to do anything positive offensively, Sean Clifford’s disastrous performance and Penn State’s repeated and inexplicable defensive lapses, the Nittany Lions were a team without a purpose. Maryland came out and graciously accepted, then exploited, everything the Lions gave them.

BEST PASS Tagovailoa’s very first pass of the afternoon was an absolute dime. Connecting with Dontay Demus on a simple out pattern, Tagovailoa put it where only Demus could snatch it, directly along the Nittany Lions’ sideline. The strike was good for 19 yards, a first down, and set up Maryland’s first score of the game just three plays later.

BEST RUN To call Jake Funk’s 38-yard touchdown scamper the game’s best run would be accurate, but Penn State’s defensive ineptitude has to inevitably be included in any conversation about it. With Nittany Lion linebackers running into each other, Funk simply followed his blocks into Maryland’s third untouched touchdown of the afternoon, all of more than 35 yards.

BEST CATCH Desperately needing something positive to happen offensively, anything, Penn State junior receiver Jahan Dotson made a play for Clifford. From the 20-yard line, Clifford dropped back and floated one to the goal line for Dotson, who went up for the contested catch and flat-out beat corner Jakorian Bennett for the ball. The reception was good for a touchdown and Penn State’s first points for the afternoon. Kenny Bennett’s acrobatic fourth-quarter interception also deserves a nod here.

WORST DROP Already reeling from a 28-7 first-half deficit, Penn State needed to come out with a strong possession to open the second half. It was anything but. On a third-and-1 just two minutes into the half, Clifford was sacked while scrambling, losing the ball in the process. Scooped up by Maryland linebacker Chance Campbell, the Terrapins trotted 29 yards into the end zone in the other direction to take a 35-7 lead.

BEST SACK Nick Cross made the play on Clifford’s fumble so naturally, he gets the nod in this category.

BEST HIT By the time Ruben Hyppolite wrapped up Clifford late in the third quarter, snuffing out a fourth-and-4 desperation call with absolutely nothing going the Nittany Lions’ way, the Terrapins’ dismantling of Penn State was complete. Dominating the Nittany Lions in every facet of the game, Maryland returned the favor on Penn State’s trip to College Park one year ago.

BEST EFFORT The Maryland football program has to be credited for bringing the confidence of its overtime win against Minnesota into Beaver Stadium, picking right up where it left off the week prior. Taulia Tagovailoa was sharp, his receivers made plays and, maybe most impressive, the Terrapins’ defense gave the Nittany Lions absolute fits all afternoon. This wasn’t just a win for the border state rival, this was an utter decimation with little resistance by the hosts.

WORST EFFORT In an empty stadium with no sound, Penn State’s offensive line was tagged twice - back-to-back - for false starts in the third quarter. Rasheed Walker went first, followed immediately by Des Holmes. Beyond those particularly poor efforts, Penn State football gets the nod here. To get embarrassed so completely by a program it topped 59-0 a season ago, with many of the same players, defies rational explanation.

BEST KICK Even Maryland’s punter made a mockery of Penn State Saturday afternoon. Intentionally taking a delay of game with 4:46 left to play in the third quarter, already leading the Nittany Lions 35-7, the Terrapins’ Anthony Pecorella booted a nice-and-easy 40-yard punt inside Penn State’s 10-yard line, with help standing at the goal line, which was then downed at the 1.

BEST DECISION Taking absolutely nothing away from Maryland’s complete dominance, the Terrapins’ best decision was simply showing up at Beaver Stadium, which their hosts were unable to also do. This is a game that, even in the unusual situation of the 2020 college football season, won’t be forgotten anytime soon by either program, particularly after Penn State’s recent dominance in the series.

WORST DECISION There were so many that singling any one individual out in this space seems somewhat unfair to all the others but, at least from this vantage point, the refusal to pull Clifford after his sack-fumble-touchdown return to open the second half defies reason. No doubt, the decision to pull a starting quarterback has ramifications beyond the immediacy of the game. Clifford is pretty clearly Penn State’s best and only real option at QB this season. But given that catastrophe of a performance, a set of insurmountable circumstances made worse by his own poor decision-making and errant throws, head coach James Franklin owed his program a baseline level of expectation that even the best players and leaders should be held to a standard.

MOST TELLING MOMENT Forcing Maryland into a third-and-3 on the Terrapins’ first possession of the afternoon, Penn State’s defense found itself out of position on an easy crossing route over the middle. With Tagovailoa delivering the pitch and catch to Jarrett, the Maryland receiver simply followed his blocks up the left hash and to the pylon for a touchdown. Two possessions later, the same play would go for a 62-yard touchdown.

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