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had to cancel its matchups against Ohio State and Michigan State, and Min- nesota was forced to pause team activi- ties five days before it was scheduled to face Wisconsin. The Terrapins halted all football activ- ities on Nov. 11 after eight players tested positive, but they weren't able to con- tain their outbreak quickly enough to take on the Spartans as scheduled on Nov. 21. Among the people who tested positive was Mike Locksley, their head coach. Locksley became the second Big Ten head coach to test positive for COVID, joining Purdue's Jeff Brohm, who received his positive result in Octo- ber and was forced to watch the Boiler- makers' opener against Iowa from home. The Terps' COVID outbreak threw a scare into Penn State, because their problems first surfaced a few days after they had faced the Lions at Beaver Sta- dium. But Franklin said his team didn't see an uptick in cases after that game. PSU lost handily to the Terps, 35-19, one of several disappointing perform- ances by a team that had gone into the season with Big Ten title aspirations. Franklin is keenly aware that fans don't want to hear anything that smacks of excuse-making. But at the same time, the coronavirus has created unique cir- cumstances for teams throughout the country, deforming a playing field that was never all that level to begin with. And the delays in getting test results back have created some real problems for the Lions as they've tried to conduct practices as efficiently as possible while also prioritizing player safety. "I hate to say this, because it could change on you quickly, but we've done a pretty good job of keeping everybody safe and healthy, and that's my number one priority," Franklin said. "But we've also got to do that and play good foot- ball. We've got to do both. I think we've done a pretty good job of one, and we've got to do a much better job with the other. We have to find a way to serve both of those masters." ■ FREIERMUTH OUT A bad day for Penn State managed to become worse when it was announced following the Nittany Lions' 41-21 loss to Iowa that star tight end Pat Freiermuth was planning to have season-ending surgery. Coach James Franklin made the announcement, ex- plaining that Freiermuth had su>ered the unspeci to a strong start, catching his 16th career touchdown pass to cap Penn State's ensive series of the season at Indiana. The catch moved him ahead of Mike Gesicki for most career TD catches by a Penn State tight end. He -season, he moved to safety to help provide depth, but he never saw a single snap at that position. Gordon played just 10 snaps this season, all of which were on kicko> coverage in the team's ers and picked the Nittany Lions over Michigan. He did visit a handful of other schools, includ- ing Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and West Virginia. Gordon took four total uno?- cial visits to Penn State leading up to his commitment, as well as an o?cial visit for the game against Michigan in 2017. He was one of three defensive backs to in the 2018 class, along with Isaiah Humphries and Jordan Miner, both of whom are also no longer playing for the Nittany Lions. Humphries transferred within months of his arrival on campus, while Miner was forced to retire from football due to a heart condition. DOTSON ON WATCH LIST Penn State junior wide receiver Jahan Dotson has been added to the Biletniko> Award watch list, it was announced last month by The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. The Biletniko> Award is presented annually to the season's out- standing college football receiver re- gardless of position. Tight end Pat Freiermuth was also on the watch list, but his season came to an end a@er four games due to an injury. Former Penn State wide receiver Bobby Engram was a winner of the award in 1994 and a Award will be presented on March 6, 2021. ■ F O O T B A L L N O T E B O O K For the latest news on Penn State's football sea- son, visit bwi.rivals.com.

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