Penn State takes on Maryland this Saturday. The Nittany Lions are still looking for their first win of the season and the Terps are coming off of an overtime win against Minnesota. Maryland is 1-1 to start the season and currently third in the Big Ten East. Penn State is 0-2 for the first time in eight years and will need to be very prepared on Saturday.
Penn State Takes on Maryland
This is not how fans, coaches, or players thought the season would start for the Nittany Lions, but here it is. This is not the first time Penn State started 0-2 and it will likely not be the last. There were definite improvements between the first game against Indiana and last week against Ohio State. Most notably was the play of the wide receivers. The Nittany Lions will have to take another step forward against a surprisingly, maybe deceivingly, strong Maryland team this week.
Penn State’s Run Game vs. Maryland Defense
The Penn State run game has been lacking throughout the first two games this season. First, Journey Brown was ruled out for the season. Then, Noah Cain suffered an injury against Indiana that knocked him out for the season. These two being out is a huge blow to the Nittany Lion run game. Next up was sophomore Devyn Ford and two true freshman Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes. All three have been quiet, forcing quarterback Sean Clifford to do more in the run game. Clifford had 119 rushing yards in week one, but the entire Nittany Lion offense had 44 rushing yards against Ohio State. That is bad. Clifford leads the team in rushing attempts and yards through the first two games. This should not happen.
Holmes and Lee will need to be much more involved going forward. The Maryland defense is ranked 115th in rushing yards allowed this season. Northwestern amassed 325 rush yards in the first-week blowout win and Minnesota rushed for 262 yards in the loss a week ago. The Nittany Lions will have to look out for linebacker Chance Campbell. The junior linebacker leads the Terps with 27 total tackles, four for loss, and one sack this season. If Penn State can exploit this weakness in the Maryland defense, the run game might finally get the momentum it needs to carry throughout the rest of the season.
Penn State Offensive Play Calling
There is a new offensive coordinator this year for the Nittany Lions. Kirk Ciarrocca came over from Minnesota in the offseason and fans were excited. The way the Minnesota offense found holes in a solid Penn State defense a year ago made fans look forward to the things he would do with more talent. Last week against Ohio State however many were left puzzled. Clifford rushed more times than the running backs. The entire first half the wide receivers were quiet. This is largely in part due to Clifford not having much time, but once they started getting the ball out quickly in the second half the receivers came to life.
Head Coach James Franklin stated that they ran Clifford so much because the offense was trying to be aggressive against a talented Ohio State defense, but in the long run, it just beat up the quarterback and didn’t move the offense. Look for a better Ciarrocca game plan against the Terps on Saturday now that Jahan Dotson and company have proven themselves against a very talented Ohio State secondary.
Maryland Quarterback Against the Penn State Defense
The secondary for the Nittany Lions has not been up to par this season and Taulia Tagovailoa had a very good game against Minnesota a week ago. Tagovialoa has passed for 488 yards through two games this season and has three touchdown passes. However, he also has thrown four interceptions. In addition to his three passing touchdowns, he has accounted for two rushing touchdowns. The majority of those passing yards, 394, came against Minnesota.
The Nittany Lion defensive front has to get to the quarterback this week. Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh looked very strong against Indiana in week one. Last week against Ohio State however the defensive front for Penn State only sacked Justin Fields twice. The entire defense was out of sync in part because linebacker Jesse Luketa had to sit out for the first half due to a targeting penalty against Indiana, but there was still not enough pressure. Fields threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns. He had too much time. Toney and Oweh have to pressure Tagovailoa this week and force him to make mistakes.
Overall
Each unit has to play Penn State football. The first week had too many penalties and turnovers. Last week against Ohio State had a nonexistent run game, the defense oftentimes did not know what was going on, and time management was an issue. The Nittany Lions need to get back to fundamental Penn State football against Maryland this week. Hard-hitting defensive line and linebackers that make it hard to move the ball downfield and a good mix between passing and rushing. If this can occur this week, then the Nittany Lions should come out on top.
