Maryland football is for real? Maryland football may just be for real.

Beginning on the game’s opening drive capped with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Rakim Jarrett, the Terrapins’ x-x win was never in doubt as Taulia Tagovailoa had his second straight mesmerizing performance and rolled past a winless Penn State in Happy Valley.

Maryland was beaten 59-0 by Penn State last year in College Station and had scored 20 combined points in its previous four games against the Lions, a number the Terrapins surpassed less than 4 minutes into the second quarter.

The Terrapins’ first 2 touchdowns were scored in eerily similar fashion, a shallow slant by Jarrett that he housed for scores of 42 and 62 yards in length.


Tagovailoa looked much more calm and collected than an inexperienced sophomore QB normally does in Beaver Stadium as he infrequently faced any pressure, completing his first 14 of 19 passes of the half for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tagovailoa finished x of x for x yards.

Maryland’s passing game wasn’t alone in tearing through the Penn State defense, as Jake Funk was also effective on the ground averaging near 5 yards a carry and scoring on a run of 38 yards.

The Terrapins had 5 plays of at least 29 yards, including scores on plays of 42, 62, 38 and 34.

For Penn State, the Lions lost their first 3 conference games for the first time since 2004 and face an uncomfortable 0-3 reality after spending the offseason regarded as potential Big Ten champions.

Sean Clifford struggled mightily, only completing 6 of his first 20 passes before ultimately finishing x of x. He again led the team in carries and was sacked a whopping 7 times. He also had a fumble returned for a touchdown and threw an interception in the fourth quarter.

Entering today, Maryland’s defense had allowed the most rushing yards in the Big Ten but held Penn State’s ground game to just x yards

Tagovailoa has quickly shown he may be one of the better QBs in the conference. The Terrapins now have a whole lot of momentum heading into next week’s matchup at No. 3 Ohio State.

It’s back to the drawing boards for the Lions who head to Nebraska where both teams will be looking for their first win of the season.