Maryland easily defeated host Penn State 35-19 on Saturday to pick up its second straight victory.

After getting routed by Northwestern in Week 1, Maryland has responded with a pair of wins heading into next Saturday’s showdown with visiting No. 3 Ohio State (3:30 p.m. ET/BTN).

It’s even more impressive considering that Maryland had 3 victories last season in coach Mike Locksley’s debut.

Maryland had been outscored a whopping 163-6 vs. Penn State in the previous 3 meetings combined. This is the first time Maryland has defeated Penn State since 2014.

“We’re going to take it as one win — obviously it’s a big one,” Locksley said. “It’s a big one for our young team to come up here in State College and win a game against a traditional power like Penn State. I’m happy for our players. … They’re buying into everything we’re asking of them.”

Here’s the Week 3 report card:

Offense: B+

Taulia Tagovailoa followed up his breakthrough Week 2 with another strong showing to assert himself as a foundational quarterback. The efficient Tagovailoa completed 18 of his 26 passes for 282 yards and 3 touchdowns.

All three of Tagovailoa’s touchdowns were during a dominant first half for the offense. Tagovailoa is the first Maryland quarterback with three touchdowns in the first half of a conference game since Danny O’Brien in 2010 vs. Wake Forest.

Tagovailoa completed 14 of his first 19 passes.

Maryland raced to a 21-0 lead behind two deep touchdown passes from Tagovailoa to Rakim Jarrett (42 and 62 yards) in the first quarter and a 38-yard rushing score by Jake Funk in the second.

After Penn State trimmed the deficit to 21-7, Tagovailoa connected with Dontay Demus Jr. for a 34-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left in the first half.

The Maryland offense was shut out in the second half but the first half cushion ultimately made the difference in the outcome.

Maryland amassed 405 total yards and did an excellent job at protecting the football, committing no turnovers.

Jarrett finished with 5 receptions for 144 yards. Locksley texted Jarrett before the game encouraging him by saying: “Hey, we brought you here to make plays,” and saying that this was a chance to prove it.

“He came through and really made some big-time plays for us early on to ignite us,” Locksley said.

Demus Jr. had 6 receptions for 86 yards.

Tagovailoa praised his targets for their reliability.

“Our whole wide receiver group, they’re just a bunch of playmakers,” Tagovailoa said. “You’ve just got to get the ball in their hands.”

As for the rushing game, Funk tallied 80 yards on 16 carries while Peny Boone added 20 yards on 4 carries.

Defense: B+

The Maryland defense was stout in the first half. Maryland held Penn State to just 7 points and 144 yards during the game’s first two quarters.

Maryland shut out Penn State in the first quarter and third quarter.

Overall, Maryland allowed only 94 yards rushing on 36 attempts. It was a stark contrast from a unit that gave up the most rushing yards per game in the B1G coming in.

Maryland’s physicality up front created issues for Penn State.

“I’ve gotta watch the tape but we weren’t sustaining blocks,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.

Maryland forced 3 turnovers, all committed by Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. He threw two interceptions and had a fumble. A sack by Nick Cross forced the fumble, which Chance Campbell scooped up and returned for a 34-yard touchdown. This extended Maryland’s lead to 35-7 with 12:55 left in the third quarter.

Cross pointed out that the coaching staff “really emphasized turnovers — hunting the football, running to the ball — because that’s going to help create turnovers with big hits and everything like that.”

Clifford finished with 340 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, but his 30 incompletions and the aforementioned turnovers rendered the yardage moot.

The Maryland pass rush harassed Clifford all game long. Maryland recorded 7 sacks, the most they’ve had in a B1G game since 2016 vs. Rutgers (7). Entering the game, Maryland only had 1 sack. Ruben Hyppolite II and Mosiah Nasili-Kite each notched 2 sacks apiece.

Penn State scored 12 points on a pair of touchdown receptions by Parker Washington in the fourth quarter to make the final deficit more respectable.

Locksley said the game plan was for Clifford to have to beat them. Clifford was largely inaccurate and his decision making was shoddy. Plus, the Maryland defense didn’t provide many openings.

Special teams: B

Terrapins kicker Joseph Petrino converted all five of his extra point attempts.

Punter Anthony Pecorella finished with 224 yards on his 6 kicks, a 37.3-yard average, with 4 landing inside the 20-yard line. Colton Spangler had 1 punt for 30 yards.

Maryland held Penn State in check in the return game. Penn State only had 66 yards on 3 kick returns and 11 yards on 1 punt return. Nothing spectacular from Maryland’s special teams but a solid effort overall to get the job done.