The Athletic has live coverage of Michigan vs. Penn State in Week 11 college football action.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Penn State rebounded nicely after last week’s nail-biter against Indiana. This was a drama-free blowout that went about as well as Penn State fans could’ve hoped.
Here are my initial reactions from No. 11 Penn State’s 51-15 win against Maryland:
• Penn State brought the energy. After a lackadaisical outing against Indiana, it was apparent from the get-go the Nittany Lions were locked in. Defensive tackle Dvon Ellies broke the team down in warmups. He also addressed the team this past week. With a large contingent of Penn State fans on hand, there were cheers when the visitors took the field. Even the reserves on the sideline were engaged.
Advertisement
• Penn State couldn’t have scripted a better start. Manny Diaz’s defense came up with a fourth-down stop at the Maryland 45. Drew Allar and the offense turned the short field into a 6-yard touchdown from Allar to Dante Cephas. If Penn State’s identity is complementary football — and Franklin said as much this week on his radio show — the Nittany Lions proved him right early in the game.
• Maryland ended the game with a shocking minus-49 yards rushing, just shy of its school-record-worst minus-58 against Navy in 1965. When you remove sacks, the Terps rushed for minus-2 yards.
GO DEEPER
Snyder: This is the Penn State offense we'd been waiting for
• This type of performance is what many have been waiting to see from Allar. In his other road starts, he and this offense have struggled — especially in the first half. That wasn’t the case at Maryland. Allar looked poised, and his receivers stepped up. And as he did against Indiana, Allar made some plays with his legs. He completed 13 of 16 passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and ended the game 25-of-34 for 240 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and 39 yards on the ground.
Maybe this matters, maybe it doesn’t — and Allar said last week he didn’t think it would — but he has looked more comfortable and less timid since he threw his first career interception against Indiana. Penn State attempted some deep throws down the field. The offense had some explosive plays — through the air and on the ground.
• After surrendering three touchdowns on explosive plays to Indiana, the Penn State defense returned to pre-Hoosier form. Even with Taulia Tagovailoa completing 22 of 25 passes for 211 yards with one touchdown in the first half, there still wasn’t much rhythm to Maryland’s offense. That’s a credit to the defense. Penn State recorded six sacks.
• We finally saw it at the end of the first quarter. What was the result of the unveiling of the Beau Pribula package that we’ve been hearing about since the spring? A touchdown pass from Allar to Theo Johnson. Allar could’ve thrown the ball back to Pribula, who was wide open, but instead he found Johnson. I wonder what other wrinkles we’ll see out of this package. I also wonder why it was used against Maryland and not saved for Michigan.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 🤯@PennStateFball leads it 14-0.
📺: FOX/@CFBonFox
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 4, 2023
Later in the first half, Pribula entered with Penn State at the Maryland 8-yard line. This time Allar wasn’t in the game. Pribula appeared to trip and rushed for a loss of 2 yards.
Advertisement
• Pribula’s usage wasn’t the only wrinkle offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich unveiled in the first half. Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith attempted a pass in the second quarter. He had Tyler Warren and Cephas both open, but the pass intended for Warren was not on the mark and fell incomplete. Is taking the ball out of Allar’s hands in favor of putting it in Lambert-Smith’s the right call? The play design was there but the pass was not.
• Cornerback Kalen King had a rough go-around with Marvin Harrison Jr. in the Ohio State game and was picked on a few times again in this one. Penn State’s surprising streak of not having a cornerback drafted in the first round might hold if this continues. Perhaps no Penn State player’s draft stock has improved more this season than tight end Tyler Warren’s. The former high school quarterback continues to come up big for this offense. Warren finished with four catches for 51 yards and one TD. He was Allar’s target on a fourth-down conversion early in the fourth quarter and gained 11 yards for a first down.
• Penn State was without defensive end Chop Robinson, who hasn’t played since suffering an apparent head injury against Ohio State. Penn State got a waiver to allow Robinson to travel and not count against the 74-person travel roster. He went through warmups in pads and sneakers and stood on the sideline all game interacting with teammates. It’s the first time we’ve seen Robinson on the field since the injury so that could bode well for a return against Michigan. Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III, who finished the Indiana game with his arm in a sling, did not make the trip.
• Penn State was willing to get more receivers involved early. Cephas and Lambert-Smith started and Liam Clifford and Kaden Saunders saw the field early, too. Malik McClain played in the second half as Penn State works to come up with solutions for this group. Cephas and Lambert-Smith took steps forward in this game. Lambert-Smith finished with eight receptions for 95 yards and Cephas had six for 53 and two scores. Both of Cephas’ touchdown receptions were not easy, either. This should be a sizable confidence boost for the Kent State transfer.
• So, after what felt like a bounce-back game with a quarterback who looks more comfortable and confident, with a receiving corps that stepped up and didn’t have a dropped pass — and with a defense that looked as strong as it did before the Indiana lapses — are you believing Penn State can upset No. 3 Michigan next week?
(Photo of KeAndre Lambert-Smith: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
