The Maryland Terrapins enter the game with a record of 4-7 and are 1-7 in the conference.\u00a0 The only conference win for the Terps this year was a one-point decision over USC, and they come into this game losers of four straight and six of the last seven.\u00a0 This matchup will feel like the postseason for Maryland.\u00a0 They have a chance to play a major spoiler role in the CFP standings.<\/p>\n
#4 Penn State (10-1) Takes on Maryland (4-7) Amidst Postseason Uncertainty<\/h2>\n
When & Where:\u00a0<\/strong>Saturday, November 30, 3:30 pm ET, at Penn State (Beaver Stadium)<\/p>\n Last Game’s Results:\u00a0<\/strong>Penn State beat Minnesota on the road by a score of 26-25.\u00a0 Maryland lost to Iowa 29-13 at home.<\/p>\n Last Season’s Results: <\/strong>Penn State finished ranked #13 after a 10-3 season that ended with a Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.\u00a0 Maryland finished with a record of 8-5, including a win over Auburn in the Music City Bowl.<\/p>\n Series History:\u00a0<\/strong>This is the 48th time the teams will meet.\u00a0 Penn State has won 43 times, Maryland three times, and there was one tie.\u00a0 Penn State has won seven of the last eight matchups.\u00a0 They last met in 2023, when Penn State won 51-15.<\/p>\n Both of the players to watch that are noted below are there due to injuries.\u00a0 It will be imperative for Penn State to overcome some unfortunate long-term injuries suffered against Minnesota.<\/p>\n The offensive line is a critical component in any team’s success.\u00a0 Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s scheme frequently uses the running game to open up big plays in the passing game.\u00a0 Therefore, the line is critical.\u00a0 Nolan Rucci<\/a>, a redshirt Junior and transfer from Wisconsin, will need to step up against Maryland.\u00a0 It will be a good dress rehearsal for him heading into the offseason.<\/p>\n Rucci has become a focal point of the offensive line due to the injury to Anthony Donkoh<\/a>.\u00a0 Donkoh, the starting right tackle, sustained an injury against Minnesota.\u00a0 In his Monday press conference, head coach James Franklin confirmed it was a long-term injury.\u00a0 Franklin, speaking of Rucci, said “We’re going to need him to have a really good week this week in preparation, as well as on Saturday, and have a lot of confidence that he will.”<\/p>\n When a significant injury happens to a position group like the Penn State offensive line<\/a>, it sets off a domino effect.\u00a0 Rucci moves into the starting lineup.\u00a0 However, it also means that others may need to step up in the case of other injuries or for lack of performance.\u00a0 Players like JB Nelson<\/a> and Cooper Cousins<\/a> should be ready if and when they are called upon.\u00a0 Rucci gets the first shot.\u00a0 Given the importance of the line and the criticality that the tackle plays in this game and looking forward to the CFP, Rucci is a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n This is not the first time that Zane Durant<\/a> has been noted as a Nittany Lion to watch, and there is good reason for that.\u00a0 His strong play, his steady production, and his leadership all stand out.\u00a0 Similar to their counterparts on the offensive side of the ball, a long-term injury is putting more pressure on the defensive line.<\/p>\n In the first half against Minnesota, defensive tackle Alonzo Ford<\/a> exited the game with an injury.\u00a0 He did not play during the rest of the game.\u00a0 During Monday’s presser, Franklin confirmed that Ford also suffered a long-term injury.\u00a0 Coziah Izzard<\/a> will get the chance to replace that production.<\/p>\n In addition to Izzard, more will fall on Durant’s capable shoulders.\u00a0 He has answered the call all season long, and there is no reason to believe that will change.\u00a0 This season, Durant has produced 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks.\u00a0 He tied his season high with five tackles against Minnesota.\u00a0 Durant will also be relied upon to be a rock on the defensive line.\u00a0 Speaking of Durant during Monday’s presser, Franklin said “To me, he’s what you want, what you’re looking for in terms of the whole package.”\u00a0 His play, and his leadership, are going to be relied upon by Penn State, and make Durant a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n When #4 (in the AP poll) Penn State takes on Maryland on Saturday, the game will take place amidst postseason uncertainty for the team.\u00a0 Assuming they beat the Terps, as they should, there is still uncertainty about what is next for Penn State.\u00a0 The next game could be for the Big Ten title against Oregon.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":69029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,35610,2056],"tags":[32817,2897,837,695,309,7449],"class_list":["post-69006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bigten","category-penn-state-nittany-lions","category-top-25","tag-andy-kotelnicki","tag-big-ten-championship","tag-james-franklin","tag-maryland-terrapins","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-penn-state-offense"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69006"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80190,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69006\/revisions\/80190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Penn State vs. Maryland: Nittany Lions to Watch<\/h3>\n
Offensive Lineman Nolan Rucci<\/h3>\n
Defensive Tackle Zane Durant<\/h3>\n
![\"Penn](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/USATSI_24835711_168400536_lowres-300x200.jpg\")