Penn State coach James Franklin watched his team turn a comfortable victory over Maryland into a rout, then made it clear he doesn't care much about style points. “We wanted to be able to run the ball out of spread sets, and for whatever reason, we couldn’t cover people up and then you get into when you’re behind the sticks and you’re forced to throw the ball,” Maryland coach Michael Locksley said.
Maryland coach Michael Locksley admitted his team needs to handle the role of a favorite a lot better than it did the past couple games. No. 9 Penn State comes to College Park to face the Terps on Saturday, a week before the Nittany Lions host a showdown with No. 2 Michigan.
On the first play from scrimmage, Taulia Tagovailoa found an open Jeshaun Jones for a 62-yard gain, and Maryland was off and running. Tagovailoa threw for 352 yards and accounted for all six Maryland touchdowns, leading the Terrapins to a 44-17 rout of Indiana on Saturday and their first 5-0 start since 2001. Tai Felton caught seven passes for 134 yards and three first-half TDs for the Terrapins, who are 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since joining the league before the 2014 season.
Maryland coach Michael Locksley was upset with his team's start and its finish in a win over Charlotte last weekend. Six days later against Virginia, the Terrapins solved one of those two issues. Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 342 yards and a touchdown, and Maryland came back from another early deficit to rout Virginia 42-14 on Friday night in the teams' first meeting in a decade.