Penn State football blows out Maryland 59-0 in most impressive performance of season
Maryland’s “Blackout” turned into a Penn State “White Out” by halftime Friday night.
The No. 12 Nittany Lions dominated, embarrassed and exposed the Terrapins 59-0 in a hyped matchup in which Maryland canceled afternoon classes and brought in extra bleachers to accommodate more fans, who were all told to dress in black.
But, by halftime, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the beleaguered student section had already left for the exits. And Maryland Stadium’s overwhelming color transformed from a salt-and-pepper look to a majority white appearance. Maryland’s fans couldn’t be blamed too much; Penn State led 38-0 after two quarters.
It was the best performance of the season for both Penn State and quarterback Sean Clifford — and it should give the Nittany Lions plenty of confidence moving forward.
With the win, the No. 12 Nittany Lions improve to 4-0 on the season. Maryland falls to 2-2.
Player of the game
QB Sean Clifford: There’s no debate here. Clifford set a first-half school record with 287 passing yards.
In the first two quarters, when he led the Nittany Lions to a 38-0 halftime lead, Clifford was virtually unstoppable. His numbers at that point told most of the story: 19-of-22 passing, 287 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also had 41 rushing yards and a rushing TD.
It was the best game of Clifford’s young career, and he demoralized the Maryland fans so much that — by the start of the second half — more than 80 percent of the student section had already left for the exits.
He obviously didn’t play the entire second half. But, overall, he finished with 398 passing yards. Had he played the entire game, he likely would’ve set the single-game school record for passing yards (454).
Play of the game
KJ Hamler’s 58-yard TD catch: Need a reminder of just how electric Penn State’s “Human Joystick” actually is?
Well, you didn’t have to wait long in Friday night’s game. With 9:48 left in the first quarter, on third-and-9, Hamler caught a high slant just short of the sticks. He turned upfield, pinballed off a diving defender, kept his balance and then sprinted to the right sideline.
From there, he used fellow wideout Jahan Dotson as a blocker, faked out another defender and sprinted in for the 58-yard touchdown catch. That put Penn State up 14-0, and the Nittany Lions didn’t look back from there.
Turning point(s)
Defense’s first two interceptions: The offense may have made the headlines Friday night, but it was the defense that sparked the blowout.
On the first drive of the game, on a second-and-7 play, linebacker Jan Johnson was nearly hit in the facemask by an errant Josh Jackson pass. He held on to the ball for the interception, returned it 17 yards — and then, thanks to two Maryland penalties, watched Penn State start its first drive on the Maryland 8-yard line.
Penn State scored a TD to go up 7-0. And, of course, the Penn State defense wasn’t done.
Two drives later, with Maryland now trailing 14-0, the Terps started an impressive drive downfield. They got all the way to the Penn State 11, before Tariq Castro-Fields made a nice play on the ball — and grabbed an interception of his own.
If Maryland would’ve scored there, it could’ve cut the deficit to 14-7. Instead, Penn State responded with another touchdown — to make the score 21-0 and to ignite the inevitable blowout.
Stat of the game
619: That’s the number of Penn State’s total offensive yards Friday night. The Nittany Lions had 528 yards by the middle of the third quarter, when their starters were still in the game.
PSU finished with 421 passing yards and 198 rushing yards.
Up next
vs. Purdue: No. 12 Penn State (4-0) will take on the Boilermakers (1-2) at noon Saturday, Oct. 5, at Beaver Stadium.
The Boilermakers have already lost to Nevada and TCU — but won against Vanderbilt — while the Nittany Lions took a big step forward Friday night. Next Saturday’s game will air on ABC and act as Penn State’s Homecoming game.
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 11:24 PM.