Penn State is coming off a tough loss at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, but if there was one silver lining, it was the return of Saquon Barkley. How will he fair against Maryland?
Overview
The “Revenge Game” has arrived. Last November, tensions between the Nittany Lions and Terps boiled over into a pregame brawl and led to the famous “no handshake” from the Maryland captains at the coin toss. On a different note, this year’s Maryland team has been anything but stable, which could help the struggling Lions offense.
Notes
Location- M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Time- 3:30PM (EST)
Television- ESPN
Opponent- Maryland Terps (2-4)
Last Meeting- 20-19 Maryland (2014)
Line- Penn State is a 6 point favorite
Visitors- stay tuned
Last Thoughts
Penn State will have to put up points early and often. The Terps defense has allowed 40+ Points three times this year and Penn State hopes to be the forth occasion. For Maryland, this will be the first game for Mike Locksley as head coach, who takes over for the fired Randy Edsall. Maryland seems to have found a starting quarterback in Perry Hills, he’s more of a running quarterback so the defense will have to account for that. Saquon Barkley may be in for a field day, the Maryland defense allowed over 300 rushing yards to West Virginia and over 150 on four other occasions. With Barkley now healthy, there’s no saying what he may run for this Saturday. The defense will have to work on containment of Hills, they don’t want what happened last week with JT Barrett running all over them. For Christian Hackenberg, the key is to stay upright, easier said than done. Hackenberg will have to get mobile and find his playmakers down field. Coach Franklin has discussed the possibility of putting Trace McSorley in during red zone trips. This game will also be big for recruiting, four of Penn State’s 2016 recruits are from Maryland. This game will provide plenty of bragging rights for the victor.This game is technically a home game for Maryland, but with it being at a neutral site, Penn State should dominate the stands along with the game. I see Penn State winning this one and improving to 6-2 on the season and more importantly becoming bowl eligible. It’s also worth mentioning, that both teams do plan on shaking hands before the game.
Penn State 31 Maryland 14
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