Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/735321
P R E G A M E R E P O R T M A R Y L A N D @ P E N N S T A T E N O O N , O C T . 8 B T N MARYLAND FACTS COACH D.J. Durkin (Bowling Green, '01) COACH'S RECORD 4-0 in one season; career record: same 2016 RECORD 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten) RECORD VS. PSU Penn State leads the all-time series, 36-2-1. MOST RECENT MEETING Quar- terback Christian Hackenberg completed only 13 passes, but they were good for 315 yards and three touchdowns, and the Nit- tany Lions outlasted Maryland, 31-30, last October at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. GOOD NEWS The Terrapins are averaging 43.3 points per game to rank third in the Big Ten and 15th in the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision. Their total of 173 points through four games is a school record. BAD NEWS The one area in which Maryland hasn't looked vastly improved this year is its pass defense. Through four games, the Terps are 10th in the Big Ten, having allowed 206.3 yards per game. In addition, they've only intercepted three passes so far. Only two confer- ence teams (Iowa and Min- nesota) have fewer picks than Maryland. DID YOU KNOW? Durkin played defensive end and linebacker for Bowling Green and was the Falcons' sack leader in 1998. During his last two sea- sons – 1999 and 2000 – one of Bowling Green's defensive coaches was Tim Banks. Banks is currently in his first season as an assistant coach on Penn State's staff, working with the team's safeties. M A T T H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M It's safe to say that Joey Julius is the most famous kickoff specialist in the country right now thanks to a few violent encounters with opposing return men and their blockers. But this week, Penn State's coaching staff is most likely hoping he doesn't turn up in any highlight roundups. The Nittany Lions would surely prefer to see Julius's kickoffs sail deep into the end zone for touchbacks. That's because he's going to be kicking to Maryland's William Likely III. Likely is a do-it-all senior for the Terrapins, a player who, over the course of his three-plus seasons in Col- lege Park, has shown an ability to make an impact in every phase of the game. 1 A LIKELY STORY All-purpose threat William Likely III leads Terps into Big Ten showdown Likely breaks up a pass in- tended for DaeSean Hamilton during Maryland's visit to Penn State in 2014. Photo by Steve Manuel O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M