3 takeaways from Penn State’s resounding win over Maryland

Penn State and Maryland squared off in a B1G East battle that has been dominated by the Nittany Lions. While Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa started off with a dynamic stretch, it was not enough to keep up with Penn State.

When it was all said and done, the Nittany Lions shredded Maryland’s defense for over 50 points in the blowout win. Penn State rolled to a 51-15 win and can safely turn its attention to a game against Michigan next Saturday.

Here are the key takeaways from the win:

Drew Allar ties career-high with efficient performance

Just a few weeks ago, Allar was under fire after completing 43% of his passes in a loss to Ohio State. Since then, Allar has responded impressively, and Saturday’s outing might be Allar’s best of the season.

The QB produced a pair of textbook scoring drives in the first quarter of action against Maryland. That included an impressive short-yardage flip from Allar as he was going to the ground to give Penn State a 14-0 lead.

By the time Allar gave way to Beau Pribula and the backups, he had gone 25-for-34 with 240 passing yards and 4 touchdowns without an interception. He also produced 39 yards on the ground while scrambling out of the pocket.

Those 4 touchdowns tie Allar’s career-best mark for passing touchdowns set in the win over Iowa. He also had 4 total touchdowns in the win over UMass. As for his rushing performance, Allar’s 39 rushing yards are also a season-high for the QB.

Penn State’s defense utterly stifles Terrapin rushing attack

To win this game, Maryland was always going to need Taulia Tagovailoa to produce some heroics and an epic passing performance. For a while, Tagovailoa was up to the task, but he did not get much help from his supporting cast.

Particularly in the ground game, Maryland finished with -49 rushing yards for the game. Even with the removal of Tagovailoa’s -47 rushing yards mostly related to sacks, Maryland finished with just -2 rushing yards for the game on 8 carries.

That is simply another layer of what has been a particularly dominant season for Penn State’s defense. As a team, the Nittany Lions finished with 6 sacks and 12 TFL in the win.

Leading the way for Penn State in this one was Keon Wylie with 2 TFL and a sack. Abdul Carter and Adisa Isaac each added a sack and a TFL while Curtis Jacobs added 1.5 TFL.

Is a RB battle brewing at Penn State?

For much of the past two seasons, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen have shared the running back load with the offense. That is unlikely to change, but determining which back deserves the lead role is worth a discussion.

Entering Week 10, Allen has been slightly more efficient with a 4.6 yards per carry average, though Singleton did have 7 touchdowns to Allen’s 3. In Saturday’s game, it was Allen who greatly outshined Singleton.

Against Maryland, it was Allen who led the team with 14 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Singleton had 8 carries for 20 yards which works out to 2.5 yards per carry.

In addition to being more efficient, Allen had an edge on some of his runs against the Terrapins and consistently found ways to finish off his runs and move the pile. When it’s all said and done, efficiency is a big deal for this Penn State offense, and it will be extremely vital against Michigan next.

We’ll see if Allen is able to grab the lead role again next week or if Singleton finds a way to bounce back in Week 11.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.