Blue White Illustrated

the Penn State offense posted its high- est scoring total since a 63-24 victory over Illinois on Sept. 21. "The thing that really stands out to me is that we were able to play well up front on both the offensive line and defensive line," coach James Franklin said. "I thought our defense played fantastic. That team had been running the ball on everybody. You think of the tackles for loss that we were able to get, the sacks, the pressure – we played really well. And offensively, we were able to run the ball consistently. So just overall, some pretty positive things." Maryland had been up-and-down all season, and Saturday's performance was a low point. For much of the second half, the Terps were without their biggest playmakers on both sides of the ball. Linebacker Tre Watson, the Big Ten's leading tackler going into the game, was ejected in the third quarter due to a tar- geting penalty he received a=er a hel- met-to-helmet collision with Miles Sanders. Shortly a=erward, team rushing leader Anthony McFarland headed to the locker room with an injury. The result was the Terps' fourth loss in a row, a skid that le= them one win short of bowl eli- gibility. Penn State won its third in a row, im- proved to 9-3 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten, and enhanced its odds of qualifying for a New Year's Six bowl for the third season in a row. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • Having already established them- selves as one of the more disruptive de- fenses in the country, the Nittany Lions let loose against Maryland, racking up 15 tackles for loss and five sacks. A big part of that effort involved holding the Big Ten's third-ranked rushing offense to 74 yards on the ground. McFarland had combined to rush for more than 500 yards in his previous two games against Indiana and Ohio State, but he carried only six times for 12 yards against Penn State before leaving with an injury. His backup, Javon Leake, didn't fare much better, finishing with a team-high 34 yards on 11 attempts. Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos had another big game, finishing with 3.5 tackles for loss to increase his season total to 22. "Our defense probably as much as any unit just kept getting better [throughout the season]," Franklin said. "We came into the season with a lot of question marks on that side of the ball – at line- backer, defensive tackle – and we just kept getting better. I think tonight was a really good example of that." • Thanks in large part to their out- standing defensive effort, the Lions quadrupled Maryland's rushing total, finishing with 310 yards and four touch- downs on the ground. Sanders led the way with 128 yards, while backup Ricky Slade and Trace McSorley both added 64. • Although he was still wearing a brace on his right knee, McSorley looked healthier and more mobile than he's been in weeks, as evidenced by first-quarter touchdown runs of 3 and 20 yards. Play- ing his final game in Beaver Stadium, McSorley had 294 yards of total offense, as he completed 12 of 22 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown in addition to his 64 yards on the ground. "I think this is the best he's felt in a while," Franklin said. "I think it's also helped that the past couple of games, we've been able to protect him. We gave up one sack tonight, and it's been one sack in the past couple of weeks, so I think that's been helpful." • Juwan Johnson made an impactful re- turn from his injury, catching a 38-yard pass over the middle early in the fourth quarter. It was his first reception since the first half of the Indiana game on Oct. 20. The Lions' leading receiver on Saturday was K.J. Hamler with three catches for 90 yards, and he wasn't the only fresh- man to shine. Of the eight players who caught passes in Penn State's victory, five are in their first year of eligibility. • Despite the sloppy field conditions, the Lions made only one big mistake – a fumble by Sanders late in the third quarter that cost them a chance to take a 31-3 lead. Jake Pinegar converted his only field goal attempt, a 25-yarder, along with all five of his PAT tries. In addition, the Lions were only penalized three times for 23 yards. THE BAD • Sanders' fumble didn't prove costly, as Maryland wasn't able to convert it into points. But it was the second time in the past three games that the Lions turned it over while trying to put an opponent away. Against Wisconsin, they snapped the ball into Sanders' leg while he was in motion, giving the Badgers a ray of hope. Also, they were fortunate that a Sanders SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 13:24 PSU McSorley, Trace 3-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick) 4 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:36.......................................................... 0-7 4:53 MD Petrino, Joseph 26-yard field goal 7 plays, 52 yards, TOP 4:36..........................................................3-7 1:58 PSU McSorley, Trace 20-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:55....................................................... 3-14 2ND 2:06 PSU Pinegar, Jake 25-yard field goal 12 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:55...................................................... 3-17 3RD 9:10 PSU Slade, Ricky 8-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick) 9 plays, 86 yards, TOP 3:35......................................................3-24 4TH 12:24 PSU Freiermuth, Pat 5-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Pinegar, Jake kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:31........................................................3-31 6:13 PSU Slade, Ricky 1-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick) 7 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:09...................................................... 3-38 N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

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