Penn State visits Maryland on Saturday. Here’s a closer look:
Penn State (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten) at Maryland (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten)
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Scouting Penn State
The Lions (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten) lost, 38-10, last week at Ohio State, despite the 194-yard rushing effort of freshman tailback Saquon Barkley. Barkley, who had missed the two previous games with an ankle injury, has now accumulated 567 yards on the ground (8.3 a pop). PSU’s offense, which generated just 315 yards in all against the Buckeyes, continues to clunk along otherwise. It is 103rd among the nation’s 127 FBS teams in scoring (23.0 points per game), 106th in passing yardage (177.4), 111th in total yardage (339.7) and 125th in third-down conversion rate (28.4 percent).
Scouting Maryland
The Terrapins (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) were idle last week, after losing, 49-28, at Ohio State the week before — a game that was tied at 21-all in the third quarter. That also marked the final game for coach Randy Edsall, who was subsequently fired and replaced on an interim basis by offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. Maryland is a mess on both sides of the ball, but punt returner Will Likely is a weapon. He averages 22.6 yards, and has twice gone the distance. Quarterback Perry Hills has completed just 47.4 percent of his passes in three starts, while rushing for a team-high 289 yards (8.0 per carry).
History
Penn State leads the all-time series, 35-2-1, though the Terps earned their first victory since 1961 when they beat the Lions, 20-19, last year in State College.
Storyline to watch
Will the Terps be rejuvenated by a week off and a coaching change? Will their captains shake hands before the coin toss? They declined to do so last year, prompting apologies by Maryland officials after the game.
What’s at stake?
The Lions can become bowl eligible with a victory. Not much else to recommend in this one, which figures to be the same sort of low-scoring tractor pull last year’s game was.