How can Penn State avoid the upset against Maryland? Here are the game’s 2 key matchups
Penn State is trying to build off a blowout win against Indiana by doing the same to the Maryland Terrapins Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions will have a much tougher matchup, but should still be able to earn a victory in the game.
Let’s take a look at the two key matchups that will impact the game.
Jon Sauber: Penn State’s cornerbacks vs. Maryland’s wide receivers
At the beginning of the season I thought this would be about Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus Jr. But while Jarrett has lived up to his end of the bargain, Demus has been scarcely utilized this season. Instead, Jarrett, along with Jacob Copeland and Jeshaun Jones, have done most of the damage. Really, it’s mostly been Jarrett. Still, the rest of the group is talented enough that the matchup between it and Penn State’s corners should be entertaining Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium.
Jarrett is one of the most talented receivers in the country even if his stats this season don’t say it. Penn State is well aware of that, considering one of the best performances of his career came when he was a freshman against the Nittany Lions. He racked up 144 yards and two touchdowns on five catches in 2020, then added another six catches for 70 yards last season. He left with an injury last week against Wisconsin, but if he’s good to go he should be a problem once again.
Fortunately for Penn State, Joey Porter Jr., Johnny Dixon and Kalen King are well equipped to handle him, Copeland, Jones and even Demus if he can find a role. Porter and King are legitimate elite corners on the outside who can go head to head with any receivers in the country and find success. In fact, they have for most of the season. Jarrett is a strong receiver who suits Porter’s strengths more, but it’s unlikely Penn State has Porter shadow him in the game. Instead it will be on the entire group to get the job done against the Terrapins.
That’s going to dictate where this game goes. Maryland needs its offense to be explosive in this one. That means getting the ball to those playmakers and allowing them to make plays in the open field. Fortunately for the Terps, they have a quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa who has proven he’s capable of doing that. It’s a matter of whether those receivers can find the separation they’ll need against the Penn State defense. There haven’t been many who have broken through against the Nittany Lions this year at wide receiver, but Maryland has the type of talent it takes to do just that.
Kyle J. Andrews: Maryland’s Dante Trader vs. Penn State QB Sean Clifford
Dante Trader is a stalwart in Maryland’s defensive backfield and it comes as no surprise to those that watched him back in high school. The sophomore safety played on a loaded 2019 McDonogh (Md.) roster that featured Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, Maryland tight end Preston Howard and kicker Harrison Beattie.
Trader was the team’s leading receiver with 21 receptions for 462 yards and six touchdowns. He caused problems on the opposite side of the ball, matching up with tight ends, running backs and receivers as the free safety and beating most of them with six interceptions, 25 total tackles (18 solo) and one tackle for loss.
His ball skills have easily transferred to the collegiate level, notching two interceptions in nine games this season, along with 39 total tackles (21 solo) and three pass deflections. Trader makes his presence known on a snap-by-snap basis — barking out plays, causing confusion from the quarterback and swooping in from no man’s land to knock the football down or forcing bad throws by reaching up at the last second.
One more thing: He’s a star lacrosse player.
As for Sean Clifford, this is the time to show off his experience. Trader is a gifted football mind and athlete who’s constantly watching tape. . But Clifford has been playing football for quite some time at the collegiate level.
Clifford carved up Maryland last season for 363 yards and three touchdowns. While it isn’t the same Terrapins defense and Trader stands in his way on the back end with Beau Brade alongside, Clifford has the ability to get the ball into the hands of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton out of the backfield, tight ends Theo Johnson, Brenton Strange and Tyler Warren and receivers Mitchell Tinsley, Parker Washington and Keandre Lambert-Smith.
The sixth-year senior quarterback has braved awful conditions at Beaver Stadium and did so again in Indiana last Saturday. He’s played in two bowl games and he’s 2-1 against Maryland. Clifford is looking for revenge against Maryland for what the Terps did to them when they played the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium, with Penn State losing 35-19 on Nov. 7, 2020.
It’s not to say that this matchup won’t be tough for Clifford, but one has to give the senior some credit. He’s historically great against Maryland, just check out his statistics:
2019: 26-for-31 (83.9%), 398 yards, three touchdowns, one interception
2020: 27-for-57 (47.4%), 340 passing yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions
2021: 27-for-47 (57.4%), 363 yards, three touchdowns
Total: 80-for-135 (59.3%), 1,101 passing yards, nine touchdowns, three interceptions
