College Football
Penn State season finale against Maryland
After beating Rutgers 20-10 this past Saturday. Penn State football returns home one final time this season to honor their seniors. Before the game, 20 seniors will be honored as they don the dark blue and white one last time.
The Preview
The all-time series has witnessed 41 games played between both schools with Penn State having a commanding 38 wins to Maryland’s two wins. There is, however, one tie between the two squads. Currently, Penn State has a three-game winning streak (2015-2017).
Coming into this season, Maryland football suffered from inner turmoil. Former Head coach D.J Durkin had been on paid administrative leave following an incident in which a Maryland football player died. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada took over head coaching duties prior to the season starting.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions come into this match-up with an 8-3 record overall and a conference record of 5-3. Penn State had some high hopes of making the College Football Playoff. However, a New Year’s six bowl is still in the mix.
Offense
Penn State currently boasts the 58th best offense in the country averaging 5.9 yards per play. The Nittany Lions boost almost 412 yards per game. The offense is led by fifth-year senior quarterback Trace McSorley whom has a passer rating thus far of 121.91 and has completed 163 of 306 passes for a completion percentage of 53.27%. McSorley has passed for 2,054 yards along with six interceptions and 15 touchdowns. Besides passing, McSorley is heavily involved in the running game as well. On 140 rushes, McSorley has gained 798 yards along with nine touchdowns.
Alongside McSorley, is starting running back Miles Sanders’ who has massed together an impressive season for his first season as a starter. In eleven games, Sanders’ has 193 rushing attempts for 1,137 total yards along with the same amount of touchdowns as McSorley. Freshman Ricky Slade has seen action in seven games and has rushed 30 times for 171 yards. Slade has four touchdowns on the season as well. Leading the receiving department for Penn State is none other than K.J Hamler who has amassed 623 yards on 38 catches for five touchdowns so far. Not far behind him is Pat Freiermuth who has 22 catches for 303 yards and six touchdowns.
Defense
The defense is ranked 44th in the nation and is led by two young talents in freshman linebacker Micah Parsons and former walk-on now scholarship linebacker Jan Johnson. In eleven games, Parsons has amassed 65 tackles overall 35 solo and 35 assisted. This season, Parsons has shown the Penn State faithful why he was a five-star recruit. He’s very quick to the ball carrier and his 6-foot-3 frame is as athletic as they come. Parsons also has three tackles for loss for a total of 18 yards. On the other hand, Jan Johnson has been a machine of his own. In eleven games thus far, Johnson has 64 tackles 38 are solo and 26 are assisted. Johnson has 1,5 tackles for loss for four yards. along with one interception.
Maryland
The Terrapins have had a season that’s been different from most other programs. They haven’t been under the direction of former head coach D.J Durkin since August. Reports surfaced that Durkin created a terrible culture for the team. Currently, Maryland has five wins this season which is probably more than they thought they would’ve had. However, Maryland has given Big Ten teams tough games such as Ohio State losing 52-51 in overtime. They beat Texas in the first game of the season 34-29 at home. Though both those victories are at home.
Offense
The Maryland Terrapins currently have the 85th best offense in the country averaging 6.28 yards per play. quarterback Kasim Hill has played and started in ten games this season and has went 84-170 with four interceptions for 1,083 yards total along with nine touchdowns. Rushing wise, Maryland is led by Anthony McFarland whom in 125 rushes has gained 1,059 yards thus far.
As for receiving, Taivon Jacobs has played and started all eleven games and with that, he has caught 23 passes for 298 yards along with two touchdowns. Additionally, Jeshaun Jones has 20 catches for 271 yards along with five touchdowns.
Defense
The Terrapins have the 52nd best defense in the country. Allowing 5.32 yards per play and 374.5 per game.
Conclusion
Penn State season finale against Maryland. The game is set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m and will be televised on ABC. Penn State looks to win out and possess a good enough records for a New Year’s Six bowl while Maryland looks to present a tough challenge.
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Photo Credit to Penn State alumni association via Flickr
