Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/735321
O T H E R M A T C H U P S THE LOWDOWNLikely is one of the best kickoff returners in the country, as evidenced by his remarkable average of 51.5 yards per attempt. Nevertheless, the edge here has to go to Penn State. Redshirt junior Tyler Davis has con- verted 17 consecutive field goals for the Nittany Lions dating back to his sophomore season. He's 9 for 9 this year, with his longest kick being 40 yards. Redshirt junior Adam Greene is 4 of 6 for Maryland, with his longest being 36 yards. Freshman Blake Gillikin averages 43.3 yards per punt for Penn State, while freshman Wade Lees aver- ages 39 yards for Maryland. Special teams is the area in which the Nittany Lions have improved the most since last season. // EDGE Penn State SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWN Penn State has dominated its series with Maryland, having won 36 of the 39 games between the two border rivals. But the last two games have been very close, with Maryland winning by one point at Beaver Stadium in 2014 and Penn State turning the tables last season in Baltimore. Maryland's win two years ago was its first in the series since 1961. // EDGEPenn State THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN This is D.J. Durkin's first season as a head football coach. Hired by Maryland last December follow- ing Randy Edsall's midseason dismissal, Durkin was the defensive coordinator at Michigan last year, and he previ- ously worked for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford before moving on to Florida. James Franklin, who previously served as an assistant coach at Maryland, is 1-1 against his former team. // EDGE Even COACHING STAFF 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 5 have only two giveaways: a fumble and an interception. Sophomore WR D.J. Moore is Maryland's leading re- ceiver with 13 catches for 224 yards (17.2 ypc) and two touchdowns. Senior WR Teldrick Morgan has 13 catches for 175 yards and two TDs. To date, 12 receivers have caught passes for Maryland. Penn State has the fourth- ranked pass defense in the Big Ten. However, the Lions do have some concerns. Junior CB Christian Campbell was injured in the first quarter of last week's game against Minnesota, and Golden sat out the game for undis- closed reasons. Their availability against Maryland is uncertain. The good news for Penn State is that junior CB Grant Haley was able to play most of the game vs. the Golden Gophers after missing several weeks of action with an injury. // KEY MATCHUP Maryland redshirt sophomore RT Damian Prince will face Penn State DE Shareef Miller, while Moore will battle CB John Reid. // EDGE Penn State