Maryland 35, Penn State 19: Rapid Reaction From a Meltdown

Penn State promised a bounceback, but delivered a dud, against Maryland.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, Penn State trailed Maryland 28-7 and had lost its top remaining recruiting target to LSU.

Then it got worse.

Maryland detonated a 35-19 win on Penn State, its highest-scoring performance in the series' 44-game history. In their past four meetings, the Terps had scored a combined total of 20 points. On Saturday, they surpassed that in the second quarter.

Further, since 2008, according to oddshark.com, Penn State was 30-0 winning outright in games favored by 20 or more points. 

So what went wrong? Here are a few thoughts.

Defense. Wow.

Brent Pry, Penn State's defensive coordinator, has noted several times the offseason studies he conducted into the big-play lapses of 2019. Then Maryland's offense dropped four of them on the Lions in the first half.

Maryland receiver Rakim Jarrett, a player multiple Lions highlighted pregame, gashed the secondary on touchdown catches of 42 and 62 yards, both on third down. The Terps' first four offensive touchdowns were 34 yards or longer. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw three of them on third down.

Penn State's defense looked slow, both in coverage and on the pass rush, generated no turning-point plays and allowed Maryland to convert third downs at an 80-percent rate in the first half.

It was a dispiriting defensive performance.

What to make of Sean Clifford?

Tagovailoa, in his third career start, clearly was the best quarterback on the field. That has to be frustrating for a Penn State offense that looked so forward to Clifford's progression under offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca.

Clifford started his second consecutive game at 2 for 7, was 10 for 30 at one point and looked as uncomfortable as he has in his career. Ciarrocca didn't make it easier, loading Clifford's offense with a procession of deep routes into decent coverage, forcing an erratic quarterback to make perfect throws.

Clifford so often found himself fluttering in a pocket, looking for a receiver, awaiting his line's inevitable collapse. No play made that more clear than 3rd-and-15 in the third quarter. Clifford eluded one moment of pressure, couldn't find a receiver and got tripped for a inexcusable sack.

The play lost 15 yards, leading Penn State to attempt a 49-yard field goal. Which it missed.

Clifford is a gamer, which he showed in leading a fourth-quarter touchdown drive, but didn't have any touch, feel or protection Saturday. Coach James Franklin eventually turned to backup Will Levis and might have sooner if not for starting consecutive drives inside the 2-yard line.

A real problem

One disturbing undercurrent of Penn State's 0-3 start has been how often opponents have controlled the line of scrimmage. The Lions' defensive line played well against Indiana, was dominated by Ohio State and mustered little consequential disruption against the Terps.

Even worse was the offensive line, for which Franklin has to begin accounting. The coach raved about its toughness and grit and experience through the preseason, and little of that was evident Saturday. Maryland sacked Clifford seven times and forced a fourth-quarter interception through pressure.

Further, the line was flagged for numerous false starts, including on back-to-back plays in the second half.

Maryland entered the game with the Big Ten's lowest-ranked rush defense, allowing 293.5 yards per game. Penn State rushed for 66 in the first half, completely abandoning its running backs once again. Clifford led the team with 15 carries; Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes combined for 16.

Penn State's offense is so one-dimensional right now, and defenses know exactly how to stop it.

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