This one was full of plenty of ups and downs, but in the end, the Lions would prevail.
Review
The Terps opened up the game with large chunks of yards, the drive stalled when QB Perry Hills threw an interception to Grant Haley on the 3 yard line. The offense would quickly go three and out and then Maryland went three and out. Penn State went three and out again, but would recover a Maryland fumble. Hackenberg completed a 38 yard bomb to Hamilton, and a few plays later, hits Godwin on a 40 yarder. Barkley would score a 6 yard touchdown on the next play. It only took Maryland three plays to tie the game on a 12 yard Perry Hills rush. After a Barkley fumble, Maryland hit a field goal and then another on their following drive to take a 13-7 lead. Hackenberg went deep again hitting Blacknall for 38 and then hit Godwin for the 37 yard touchdown. Penn State took a 17-13 lead into the half. After a Penn State punt, Maryland put together an impress drive to take the 20-17 lead. On the following drive, Hackenberg again went deep to Godwin for 31 and hit Hamilton for a 20 yard score. Hills ripped apart the Penn State defense on the following drive and hit Lane for a 10 yard touchdown. With the score 27-24, the Penn State offense manufactured a scoring drive, which ended with a great catch in the end zone by Geno Lewis. Maryland added a field goal to make it 31-30, but that would be it for the scoring. Maryland had a chance to win, but on the first play of the drive, Malik Golden picked off Hills, ending the game.
Last Thoughts
Well, this one was unexpected. The Defense was shredded giving up 30 points, and 466 total yards, but they did generate 5 turnovers which won the game. Saquon Barkley only only had 65 rushing yards and a score, Maryland’s run D stepped up today, but their passing defense didn’t. Christian Hackenberg was not great, but he was 13-29 for 315 yards with 3 touchdowns. He also broke the Penn State passing record today. Penn State would win, but they were outplayed.. Maryland controlled the time of possession with over 36 minutes. Barkley ran hard, but he fumbled twice and wasn’t getting great push. Chris Godwin made numerous great plays with 4 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown. I hope the offense could keep this up, but the defense will have to improve on stopping the run and playing better coverage. At the end of the day, Penn State is 6-2 and bowl eligible. Next week we return home to face Illinois.
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