Penn State Sports Magazine
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D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 6 6 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 18 points when backup quarterback Mike McQueary connected with re- ceiver Chris Campbell for a 42-yard score in the final minute. Penn State had removed starting signal-caller Wally Richardson from the game, and McQueary was ad-libbing after see- ing Campbell open downfield, but the substitution did little to soften Rutgers' reaction to another touchdown. Rutgers coach Doug Graber believed Penn State was running up the score. His postgame meeting with Paterno be- came an angry, profane exchange caught by television microphones. Paterno, who had looked irritated on the side- line after the play, later told reporters he wasn't trying to pile on meaningless points. "I did not want to run up the score against Rutgers," he said. "Our team, former players and coaches know how I feel about embarrassing anybody." The incident briefly shined a national spotlight on the low-profile series. It also became its parting image for nearly two decades; the teams did not play again until 2014, when Rutgers joined the Big Ten. Maryland entered the conference that same year, renewing a series with Penn State that had been dormant since 1993. First-year Penn State mentor James Franklin had served as an assistant on the Terps' staff before becoming a head coach, and his arrival in State College sharpened the recruiting competition between the programs. Before their Nov. 1 meeting at Beaver Stadium, Mary- land captains Stefon Diggs, P.J. Gallo and Sean Davis refused to shake hands with their Penn State counterparts, C.J. Olaniyan, Christian Hackenberg and Jesse Della Valle, at the coin toss. The snub became the afternoon's de- fining image, but Maryland also sup- plied a memorable result. Brad Crad- dock kicked a 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining to give the Terps a 20-19 victory, their first against PSU in 53 years. Maryland coach Randy Edsall apolo- gized for his players' conduct afterward but was considerably more enthusiastic about what the victory might mean. "Let the rivalry begin," Edsall said. Penn State wasn't in a forgiving mood after the game, and there was still some lingering animosity years later when The Daily Collegian caught up with Della Valle and some of his teammates to dis- cuss how chippy the series had gotten. "I don't have any sort of respect for the guys doing that," Della Valle said in 2021. "I think it's a punk move to do something like that. There's enough time to be nasty and to be brutal be- tween the lines when the whistle blows." Whether those hard feelings had any- thing to do with the subsequent results in the series is an open question, but it sure seems like Franklin held a grudge. Penn State won the next five meetings by an average margin of 36.4 points, in- cluding a 66-3 rout in 2017 and a 59-0 shutout two years later. Maryland's third victory came dur- ing the pandemic-shortened 2020 sea- son, against a Penn State team that was struggling to find its footing. Taulia Ta- govailoa threw touchdown passes of 42 and 62 yards to Rakim Jarrett in the first quarter, and the Terrapins led 28-7 at halftime on their way to a 35-19 victory. Again, Penn State responded dispro- portionately; the Lions won the teams' next four games by an average margin of 30 points. Unfamiliar Territory In a moment that summed up years of anguish, Rutgers literally allowed a long-awaited victory over Penn State to slip from its fingers last Novem- ber. The Scarlet Knights were leading by a field goal and were driving in the fourth quarter for what might well have been the clinching touchdown. But while dropping back to pass, quarter- back Athan Kaliakmanis lost his grip on the football, and his unforced fumble bounced into the hands of linebacker Amare Campbell for a 61-yard scoop- and-score touchdown. The Lions went on to win 40-36, a victory that made them bowl-eligible while ending Rut- gers' season at 5-7. For the Scarlet Knights, Kaliakma- nis' fumble was a grim reminder of how snakebit they've been in their encoun- ters with Penn State over the decades. "That's never happened to me be- fore," the senior quarterback said af- ter the game, in which he threw for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns but still wasn't able to engineer a victory. "I went to throw it, and it just fell out of my hand." Kaliakmanis won't get another shot at the Lions; he's with the Washington Commanders now after being drafted in the seventh round last April. As of early November, head coach Greg Schiano will get another shot, but his future has been the subject of considerable specu- lation in recent weeks with the Scar- let Knights headed for their fifth losing season in the past seven years. Meanwhile, the Terps have already lost their head coach. Mike Locksley was fired on Oct. 21 following a 37-30 loss to Rutgers on homecoming week- end. Aazaar Abdul-Rahim was tapped to fill in on an interim basis and will be on the opposite sideline when Penn State visits SECU Stadium to close out its regular season. For both Rutgers and Maryland, this is not unfamiliar territory. Since joining the Big Ten, neither team has enjoyed a winning conference season. Between them, they've compiled six one-win seasons and three winless campaigns in league play. For once, though, Penn State is stuck in the bottom half of the league stand- ings alongside them. The 2026 season has been very different from the one that PSU and its supporters were envisioning a few months ago, but wins over Rutgers and Maryland would at least allow the Lions to write a familiar ending. ■ "I did not want to run up the score against Rutgers. Our team, former players and coaches know how I feel about embarrassing anybody." J O E P A T E R N O , O N P E N N S T A T E ' S L A T E T O U C H D O W N V S . T H E S C A R L E T K N I G H T S I N 1 9 9 5