Penn State football leads wire-to-wire in blowout 30-0 victory over Maryland
Penn State kept its momentum going Saturday evening in Beaver Stadium as it continues chasing a 10-win season.
The Nittany Lions dominated the Maryland Terrapins, 30-0.
Penn State started as well as it could have, forcing a three-and-out on defense and then responding with a touchdown drive that ended with a pass from redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford. Earlier on that drive, he became Penn State’s all-time leader in passing yards.
The Nittany Lions kept their momentum rolling the rest of the first quarter, dominating Maryland’s offense early in the game. That allowed the offense to get on the field multiple times over the rest of the quarter, scoring another touchdown on a 45-yard rush by Nick Singleton to make it 14-0.
Penn State kept it rolling from there and Singleton was one of the main culprits. He took off for another long touchdown soon after his first, going 27 yards to the house to make it 21-0.
The defense continued doing its job to stop Maryland, allowing for another couple Penn State scores before the half on a 50-yard field goal by Jake Pinegar and then a 46-yarder to make it 27-0 with 30 minutes of game action left.
Pinegar opened the second half scoring as well with a 21-yard field goal. Penn State’s 30-point lead was plenty enough from there, as the Nittany Lions closed out the 30-0 victory.
Player of the game
Freshman running back Nick Singleton: Singleton hadn’t started the last couple games and seemed to take it out on the Terps. The freshman dominated the game and did it early. He lit up Maryland for 113 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries in the first half alone. Both touchdowns were impressive, with Singleton carrying a defender into the end zone on the 27-yard one and him breaking off a big gain in a short yardage situation for his 45-yard score. His big-play ability is a welcome sight for the Nittany Lions and should be a staple of the offense as long as he’s a Nittany Lion.
What the win means
Penn State continues on a good path make a New Year’s Six bowl game with the victory over the Terrapins. The Nittany Lions now just need to defeat Rutgers next week and Michigan State the following week in order to put themselves in a position to go to one of those bowls. Right now, the Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl are all on the table for Penn State’s destination if the program makes a New Year’s Six game. While this win was largely expected, it’s still a positive sign that the Nittany Lions can take care of business when they need to.
