Maryland football falls to No. 4 Penn State, 44-7

In what seemed like a lost season, Maryland football showed signs of life in the first quarter against No. 4 Penn State.

After Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton made a mistake on the game’s first play, quarterback MJ Morris – subbing in for the injured Billy Edwards Jr. – immediately found Kaden Prather for a 25-yard touchdown.

But as has been the case all season, disappointment crept in for the Terps. The closest they came to victory was with 14:49 left in the first quarter. Penn State scored 44 unanswered points en route to a 44-7 win over Maryland at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

“Disappointing loss, a disappointing end to a long, long season,” head coach Michael Locksley said. “This season has not met the standards we set for ourselves.”

No team has frightened the Terps more over the past three years than Penn State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten), and in a season full of losses, there was no team that could finish Maryland’s season better than that Nittany Lions. Penn State now has a 49-4-1 all-time record against the Terps and has beaten Maryland (4-8, 1-8 Big Ten) by an average of 30 points per game since 2021.

The hope and momentum provided by Singleton’s fumble and Maryland’s first touchdown were short-lived. The offense shut down completely after that, as the offensive line allowed multiple rushers to attack Morris from the edge untouched. On consecutive drives in the first quarter, Morris was either sacked or rushed on second and third downs to force two punts.

Penn State recorded six sacks and four quarterback hurries on Saturday as Morris rarely had enough time to see the field and throw the ball. Abdul Carter, Penn State’s all-time leader in sacks with two, struck the Heisman pose after sacking Morris for the second time on a second-and-10 in the third quarter.

“We had some sacks at the quarterback position where there were opportunities to get rid of the ball,” Locksley said, “but there were also times where we had to line up and block people.”

But even when Morris had space to throw the ball, he constantly missed targets and turned the ball over. Two of his three interceptions came on the Terps’ final two drives of the first half. The first was intercepted near midfield, giving Penn State another possession starting in Maryland territory, and the second was thrown at Penn State’s 23-yard line, capping the Terps’ second-best drive of the half .

Penn State’s first touchdown drive of the game began at the 40-yard line, but two of the next three touchdown drives began in Maryland’s half of the field, resulting in a 31-7 halftime deficit for the Terps.

Morris’ play did not improve in the third quarter and backup quarterback Champ Long replaced him for the second drive of the period. Long entered the season as the team’s fourth quarterback and had never seen a snap with the Terps before Saturday. He only played in that one drive where he was 1 of 2 for 10 yards, while Morris finished the game 14 of 24 for 112 yards.

Maryland’s defense kept Penn State from scoring in the third quarter, but an 18-yard touchdown by Singleton – his second of the game – extended Penn State’s lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter and allowed the Nittany Lions to to survive the rest of the quarter.

Despite holding a 31-point lead, the Nittany Lions continued to play with less than a minute left. Beau Pribula threw a 15-yard passing touchdown with zeros on the clock, contributing to Maryland’s worst loss of the season.

This led to a heated exchange at midfield between Locksley and Penn State head coach James Franklin.

“I asked about his family, Christmas cards, address, all that kind of stuff,” Locksley said of the confrontation. “Nonsense, that was it. I respect the game. I have a lot of respect for James, his program. I think it was nonsense.”

Three things you should know

1. Felton narrowly missed Maryland’s single-season receiving yards record. Senior wide receiver Tai Felton entered Saturday’s game needing 144 receiving yards to pass Marcus Badgett’s 1,240 yards and set a new program single-season record. However, Felton only managed 27 yards, falling 117 yards shy of the 1992 record.

2. Warren did a little bit of everything. Penn State’s versatile tight end Tyler Warren was a passing, rushing and receiving threat on Saturday. He hit Singleton on a 9-yard pass, rushed three times for 32 yards – including a 28-yard run in which he deflected multiple tackles and ran over a defender – and caught a game-high six passes for 68 yards.

3. Maryland’s season finale. For the first time in three seasons, the Terps’ season ends against a Big Ten opponent and without a bowl game. Although an expected result, it is still unsatisfactory as Locksley and his squad were unable to leave their seniors with positive news.

“The senior group continued to lead us through a difficult year,” Locksley said. “They’ve left us with a really solid foundation and I thank this group for that.”