Penn State football still winless after getting embarrassed by Maryland in 35-19 loss
In easily the worst game in head coach James Franklin’s seven-year tenure, the Penn State Nittany Lions were embarrassed by the underdog Maryland Terrapins in a 35-19 loss at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night.
Coming into the contest, Maryland hadn’t scored a touchdown against Penn State since 2016. But the Terrapins found the end zone four times by the end of the first half to put the Nittany Lions in a 28-7 hole at the break. By halftime, Maryland had 335 yards of total offense, compared to Penn State’s 144. Redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford was just 6-20 through the air for 78 yards and a touchdown.
The Nittany Lions’ defense allowed Maryland sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa to complete 14 of his 19 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in the opening half.
Clifford finished 27-of-57 passing for 340 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and one fumble, while Tagovailoa ended the night 18-of-26 passing for 282 yards and three touchdowns.
Penn State is now 0-3 to start its season for the first time since 2001, while Maryland moves to 2-1.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
WR Jahan Dotson: In a game as ugly as this one, there were almost no bright spots for the Nittany Lions. Still, Jahan Dotson gets the nod here for being responsible for the only Penn State touchdown that didn’t come in garbage time. The 5-foot-11, 182-pound junior receiver caught nine passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Dotson allowed the Nittany Lions to finally get on the board after the Terrapins got off to a 21-0 start. With 6:32 left in the first half, Dotson reeled in a 20-yard touchdown grab from Clifford in the right end zone.
In the third quarter, Dotson caught an 18-yard pass on Penn State’s second drive of the second half that helped his team build some confidence on offense. Still, the Nittany Lions’ drive eventually stalled out, and junior kicker Jake Pinegar ended up missing a 49-yard field goal attempt with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Dotson’s 20-yard touchdown catch: Sure, Dotson’s stats from this game don’t quite measure up to his 144-yard, three-touchdown performance last week against Ohio State. But for the most part, the Nazareth native did what he could given the circumstances. He was responsible for one of the Nittany Lions’ only positives against the Terrapins — their only touchdown of the game when it actually mattered.
On that drive, Penn State showed signs of life — stringing together 10-plays and marching 75 yards down the field — but the Nittany Lions couldn’t build off that momentum. Penn State didn’t score again until freshman receiver Parker Washington hauled in a 23-yard touchdown catch with 10:16 left in the game.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Lack of protection from O-line: Maryland dropped Clifford for a sack seven times throughout the contest. Some of these were a result of Clifford scrambling in the backfield and holding the ball for too long instead of throwing it away. But there were also times when Clifford felt pressure fairly quickly after he snapped the ball.
Clifford hasn’t made great decisions when he’s felt the heat in the pocket, and that was evident again on Saturday.
With 8:13 left in the game, the 6-foot-2, 217-pound quarterback lobbed up a 50-50 ball down the left sideline after defenders were in his face. The play resulted in an interception by Maryland junior cornerback Kenny Bennett, and the Terrapins took over on the Nittany Lions’ 45-yard line with a 22-point advantage.
UP NEXT
At Nebraska: After starting its season with three consecutive losses for the first time in nearly two decades, Penn State must travel to Lincoln for the first time since 2012 to take on Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are also winless, coming off a blowout loss to Ohio State in Week 1 and a one-score loss to Northwestern this week.
The game kicks off at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 7:03 PM.
