Blue White Illustrated

entry into the Big Ten. Simply put, the Nittany Lions dominated the border ri- valry, losing only once (and settling for one tie) in 37 meetings. But 1993 was a long time ago, and a lot has changed. Penn State is, by most ac- counts, at the bottom of the trough that the NCAA pushed it into two years ago with the imposition of major scholarship cuts, while the Terrapins are starting to reap the benefits of Randy Edsall's over- haul now that the former Connecticut coach is in his fourth season. ACer going 2-10 in Edsall's first year in charge, the Terps improved each of the next two, winning four games in 2012 and seven in '13. At 5-3 heading into Sat- urday's visit to Beaver Stadium, they are poised to take another step forward this fall, even aCer trading the Atlantic Coast Conference for the Big Ten. They've got a couple of conference victories, having thrashed Indiana (37-15) and outlasted Iowa (38-31), and they even threw a scare into West Virginia in nonconference play, falling 40-37 to the Mountaineers. And now comes their chance to make a statement against an opponent that fig- ures prominently in their future. The Terps and Lions may be less familiar with each other than you would expect of two major-conference schools whose cam- puses lie only 181 miles apart, but they have waged their share of recruiting skir- mishes across the Mason-Dixon Line, as evidenced by the prevalence of Pennsyl- vania players on Maryland's current ros- ter (13) and the number of Maryland players on Penn State's roster (nine). Over the years, the Lions have gotten the best of those battles, too, and Franklin's presence at Penn State only figures to add to Maryland's challenge. But Edsall is looking to address the matter head-on. "Penn State has always recruited down here, and Penn State has pretty much al- ways gotten who they wanted to get down here," he said. "We're in an area where it's a bordering state and you have the popu- lation that we have here and there are going to be a lot of people – and most es- pecially your next-door neighbors – who are going to come in here and recruit. You see it from Virginia, West Virginia, Rut- gers, Pittsburgh, Penn State. They are going to be down here. It's just one of those things, and what you have to do is go out and play to the best of your ability and win. That way, you can probably keep more of those guys here at home." Franklin said he doesn't see his familiar- ity with some of Maryland's current play- ers giving Penn State a boost on Saturday. "I know their personalities, but I haven't coached them or been around them in four years," he said. "A lot of things can change. Guys get bigger, stronger. They develop, and they're in schemes that are different. I don't think we gain a whole lot of an advantage. There is some familiarity. I would say it's similar [to Penn State's re- lationship] with a lot of other schools in this conference that are close. Other schools that we've played, we've recruited their guys, as well. So I think the longer we're here, you're going to have more and more of that because you're recruiting against each other." When Maryland and Rutgers were an- nounced in 2012 as the Big Ten's newest members, there was some talk about re- establishing Penn State's Eastern rival- ries. Joe Paterno had long championed the addition of another Eastern team, and suddenly the Lions were getting a chance to renew acquaintances with not just one but two of their former sparring partners. But because Penn State has dominated both series over the years, going a com- bined 57-3-1 against the Terps and Scar- let Knights heading into the 2014 season, the reaction of many Penn State fans was muted. Sure, those fans wanted the Big Ten to have a stronger presence in the Northeast. But some clearly would have preferred Pitt or Syracuse or West Vir- ginia – teams that had been more com- petitive against the Lions during the Major Independent era. Asked earlier this week about develop- ing a rivalry with Penn State, Edsall ac- knowledged that the lopsided history of the series is an obstacle. "You have to win games, and that's one thing that we haven't done here at the University of Maryland. Most of our guys weren't even born yet the last time" the Terps faced Penn State, he said. "We will get the chance to play them now on a yearly basis, and what we have to do is continue to get better. If you are ever going to make a se- ries a rivalry, there have to be wins on our side to be able to make that happen." NATE BAUER RECORD 6-1 This one is tougher than it might seem. Between the chance of a letdown and the continuing offensive issues, there's a very real possibility Penn State comes out cold Saturday. Still, the de- fense is too strong, and the offense will do enough to get by. PENN STATE 17, MARYLAND 16 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 5-2 The Terps are coming off an embar- rassing loss to Wisconsin, while the Lions are trying to break a three-game losing streak. I like the matchups in this game for PSU. I think the Lions might have some limited success run- ning the ball and taking a bit of pres- sure off of Christian Hackenberg. PENN STATE 27, MARYLAND 13 MATT HERB RECORD 5-2 The White Out atmosphere brought out Penn State's best last Saturday. Beaver Stadium won't be as charged this week, but maybe the Lions can maintain some of the momentum they built during their gutsy comeback against Ohio State. PENN STATE 24, MARYLAND 20 TIM OWEN RECORD 6-1 Maryland is stocked with offensive weapons, but not enough to outduel Mike Hull and company. The Terps have never won a game at Penn State. That's not going to change this year – even if this is their first meeting as Big Ten ri- vals. PENN STATE 26, MARYLAND 21 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 6-1 Penn State has its best rushing per- formance of the season. Maryland sticks around, but the Lions will end their losing streak. PENN STATE 31, MARYLAND 23 O C T O B E R 2 9 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 BWI'S FORECAST

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