One of college football’s oldest rivalries may be renewed on Saturday when the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) will clash with the Maryland Terrapins (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) for the first time since 1993 in Beaver Stadium.
Maryland is the eighth most played school in Penn State history; the two universities first met in 1917 and have matched up 37 times since then. Penn State owns the series 35-1-1 and is hoping to hand Maryland its third conference loss in its inaugural season in the Big Ten; at the same time Penn State looks to snap its three-game losing streak. Head coach James Franklin spent eight years on Maryland’s coaching staff, and the first official Big Ten meeting between the two is sure to be electric in front of a crowd of more than 100,000.
The Nittany Lions must continue to ride quarterback Christian Hackenberg’s wave of confidence. His inspiring second half performance against Ohio State led to 24 unanswered points after completing 31-49 pass attempts to gather 224 yards. Hackenberg connected with sophomore running back DaeSean Hamilton a record 14 times in the attempt.
Franklin is excited to have senior guard Miles Dieffenbach back soon after a knee injury in the spring left him on the sidelines for the season this far. Dieffenbach is a returning starter that has a lot to offer to the offensive line, an area that is struggling right now.
Where Hackenberg and Hamilton lead the offense, senior linebacker Mike Hull drives the defense. He leads the Big Ten and is sixth in the nation for total tackles, averaging 11.6 per game. He pesters the opposing offense with a tenacity that should worry any good offensive line.
Maryland is led by quarterback C.J. Brown, who has gathered 1,316 passing yards and 376 rushing yards. He’s thrown eight and rushed for five touchdowns this year and thrown six interceptions. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs has 46 receptions, a team best. Maryland’s total offense is fifth in the Big Ten; the Terrapins average 31.6 points per game, which is sure to present a challenge for the Penn State defensive line.
Maryland’s defense features a strong combination of defensive backs Sean Davis and William Likely. Davis is third in the Big Ten with 9.4 tackles per game while Likely has 51 stops and four interceptions on the year.
Franklin recognized Likely’s ability, declaring, “he’s not very big, but he’s an explosive player.”
Penn State and Maryland will kick off at noon on Saturday in Beaver Stadium. The game will be carried on ESPN2.
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