Todya was big news for Penn State football, with the 2015 Big Ten schedule being released. But the schedule just got alittle more interesting. Penn State’s 2015 game against Maryland will be played in the home of the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. The Big Ten East Division contest between traditional regional rivals Penn State and Maryland will be played in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
#PennState will play Maryland in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Oct. 24, 2015. 1st game vs. Terps in Md. since 1993
— Jeff Nelson (@GoPSUJeff) June 3, 2013
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The game will be the first played between the two schools in Baltimore since 1991, when Penn State blew away the Terps by a score of 47-7. Penn State and Maryland have faced each other in Baltimore three times, with Penn State owning a 2-0-1 edge. All other games in the series have been played on home campuses. Penn State has played another game in Baltimore though. In 1947 Penn State played Navy in Baltimore, winning 20-7.
Maryland’s home stadium, Byrd Stadium, has a seating capacity listed at 54,000 according to Wikipedia, but the record attendance of 58,973 was set in 1975 during a home game against Penn State. M&T Bank Stadium has a listed capacity of 71,008, but how many of those seats will be filled is the question to address here. Maryland likes the concept of playing a game in Baltimore, as it gives the program a chance to reach out to a slightly larger fan base when possible. Baltimore is about 55 miles away from College Park, Maryland, but this is also allows for more Penn State fans to get a chance to watch one more game in a larger venue. There is a good amount of Penn State alumni in the region already, so filling a home game for Maryland probably would not have been much of an issue to begin with. With a stadium with nearly 15-20,000 more seats available, this could turn in to a decent-sized Penn State crowd in a hurry.
This will be Maryland’s home game though, so we will not see quite the effect of the recent Indiana “home” game against Penn State played in FedEx Field a couple years ago. Still, this is a money move for Maryland and it could benefit Penn State as well.
M&T Bank Stadium is no stranger to college football. Since opening in 1998 the stadium has been used as the host for a number of college games, including a handful of Maryland games. Maryland and Navy faced each other in the stadium in 2005 and 2010 (this really should be an annual thing). Navy has also hosted Ohio State and Notre Dame in Baltimore, in addition to a pair of Army-Navy Games (and two more scheduled through 2016). Maryland will play West Virginia in Baltimore this season as well.
Penn State has yet to play in M&T Bank Stadium.
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