Blue White Illustrated

of that earlier contest, a 70-7 wipeout. "I thought we played a complete game," coach James Franklin said a?er watching the Lions amass their highest point total in a Big Ten game since joining the con- ference. "Offense, defense and special teams all played well enough to win. I think we're trending in the right direc- tion right now. We're getting better. … I'm just very pleased with the program overall and the progress we're making." The Nittany Lions improved to 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, while Maryland ended an injury-plagued sea- son at 4-8 and 2-7. The victory gave Penn State its second consecutive 10-win reg- ular season, the first time it's amassed double-digit win totals in back-to-back years since the 2008 and '09 seasons. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • Penn State's defense stuffed Mary- land on three fourth-down attempts, in- cluding two fourth-and-1 plays. Those stops were representative of the Nittany Lions' gritty defensive effort. They gave up a few big plays, mostly to star receiver D.J. Moore, and Maryland was able to scrape and claw for 303 yards as a team. But the Terps' only score was a 42-yard field goal by Henry Darmstadter. "I thought the fourth-down stops were huge," Franklin said. "I felt like we matched up really well against Maryland on offense and defense up front, and I thought we played well. The fourth- down stops – I don't know if I've even seen three fourth-down stops in short- yardage situations. You kind of put them into the turnover category in some ways." The Nittany Lions benefitted from the return of defensive end Ryan Buchholz, who had missed nearly four full games with an injury. Buchholz helped the Lions total five sacks in holding Max Bortenschlager to 20 completions in 36 attempts for 185 yards. • During Penn State's offensive surge early in the game, the line gave McSorley what was likely the cleanest pocket he's ever had in his two seasons as starting quarterback. The Lions were facing a Maryland team that had totaled a Big Ten-worst 15 sacks through 11 games, and they took advantage of the mismatch. McSorley went 22 of 33 for 237 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a little over two quarters of action. One other positive sign for Penn State was the return of offensive tackle Ryan Bates in the second half. Bates hadn't played since the Ohio State game Oct. 28. • It's always good to see Penn State find ways of getting Stevens involved in the offense while waiting for a chance to compete for the starting position. Stevens' 21-yard touchdown run on a gadget play early in the first quarter was his fourth score of the year. Stevens, who took over for McSorley in the third quarter, led the Lions on three late touchdown drives. He only com- pleted 3 of 7 passes for 11 yards but fin- ished with a career-high 113 rushing yards and three touchdowns. "We've got a pretty good quarterback in Trace McSorley," Franklin said. "We've got a damn good quarterback as well in our backup, Tommy Stevens, but you have to be careful. Sometimes when you get into a two-quarterback system, it can mess up the flow. I think we handled it pretty well this year, and I can see this package continuing to grow for us." • Mike Gesicki made another ridiculous catch in his final regular-season game. Franklin has o?en marveled at Gesicki's catch radius, and the lanky 6-foot-6 tight end showed it off again on his 9- yard second-quarter touchdown recep- tion. The pass looked like it was going to be an incompletion, but Gesicki reached out with his right hand and speared the ball, gathering it in just before tumbling out of the corner of the end zone. He finished with five catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns. • The Nittany Lions won the turnover battle with two takeaways and no give- aways. The Terps had their share of un- forced errors, and there were a couple of loose balls that Penn State couldn't reach. If it had reached them, the final score could have been even more lop- sided than it was. THE BAD • While the offense continued to pour it on even without injured center Connor McGovern on the field (he returned to SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 10:17 PSU Stevens, Tommy 21-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 11 plays, 91 yards, TOP 4:43.........................................................7-0 3:10 PSU McSorley, Trace 5-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 41 yards, TOP 2:20........................................................14-0 2ND 14:52 PSU Gesicki, Mike 2-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 1:53....................................................... 21-0 11:33 PSU Gesicki, Mike 9-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:35.......................................................28-0 2:24 PSU Davis, Tyler 30-yard field goal 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:31......................................................31-0 3RD 9:18 PSU Barkley, Saquon 1-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:53.................................................... 38-0 7:12 PSU Barkley, Saquon 1-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 13 yards, TOP 1:59........................................................45-0 2:37 PSU Pancoast, Tom 4-yard pass from Stevens, Tommy (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:09......................................................52-0 1:01 Md. Darmstadter, H. 42-yard field goal 6 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:28....................................................... 52-3 4TH 7:44 PSU Stevens, Tommy 3-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 57 yards, TOP 3:05...................................................... 59-3 2:24 PSU Stevens, Tommy 6-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 6 plays, 48 yards, TOP 3:18...................................................... 66-3 N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

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