Penn State's daunting homestretch begins with visit to Maryland: Early preview

So, where does the Penn State football team go from here after a 33-24 loss to Ohio State? 

The Nittany Lions looked a lot better, and Sean Clifford looked a lot healthier, than they did a week earlier in a dreary home loss to Illinois. But the defeats are piling up, and the Lions, who aren’t even bowl-eligible yet, must now regroup again, knowing that they don’t have a shot at the Big Ten Championship Game, the College Football Playoff or probably even a New Year’s Six bowl anymore.   

“I’m glad we played hard, and there are going to be a bunch of positive things on that tape to learn from and grow from,” Franklin said after the Ohio State game Saturday night. “But there were some critical mistakes that we’ve got to eliminate if we want to win consistently. 

“Obviously, I’m glad we came and competed and did some good things and gave ourselves a chance to win. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done. We’ll make a big deal of the positive things we did when we watch this tape, and then we’ll critique and correct the mistakes we made to give us the best chance to win next week.”

Ohio State has been the Nittany Lions’ most vexing opponent, having now won nine of the past 10 games in the series, but the road ahead looks nearly as rugged in spots. All four of Penn State’s remaining opponents are .500 or better on the season. All four have bowl aspirations. And all four looked pretty good on Saturday, including the one that lost. 

The last month of the season begins with this week’s visit to Maryland. The Terrapins ended a three-game losing streak with a 38-34 victory over Indiana on Saturday. Taulia Tagovailoa completed 26 of 40 attempts for 419 yards, Maryland’s highest single-game passing yardage total since 1993 and the second-highest total in school history.

Tagovailoa has posted some big numbers this season, ranking second in the Big Ten with an average of just under 300 passing yards per game. He’s been able to do that even though the Terps have suffered a couple of key injuries in their receiver corps, losing Jeshaun Jones and Dontay Demus for the season. Against the Hoosiers, senior wideout Carlos Carriere came through with eight catches for 134 yards.   

Maryland’s problem has been its defense. During their losing streak, in which they fell to Iowa, Ohio State and Minnesota, the Terps gave up 151 points. Even in victory, they surrendered 446 total yards to a Hoosiers team that was forced to start true freshman Donaven McCulley at quarterback after injuries to Michael Penix Jr. and Jack Tuttle. 

Following its visit to Maryland, Penn State returns home to face a Michigan team that suffered its first loss of the season in a 37-33 slugfest at Michigan State. The Wolverines weren’t able to hold onto a 16-point third-quarter lead in East Lansing, but they did show the ability to complement their Big Ten-leading ground game with effective passing from Cade McNamara. The redshirt sophomore quarterback completed 28 of 44 attempts for 383 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Wolverines’ loss.  

Rutgers, at 4-4 overall, is the only team on Penn State’s November schedule that doesn’t have a winning record. But in its 20-14 victory over Illinois on Saturday, it did what the Nittany Lions couldn’t, holding the Illini to 107 rushing yards just a week after they piled up 357 yards on the ground at Beaver Stadium. If the Scarlet Knights can find two wins in a remaining schedule that features Wisconsin, Indiana, Penn State and Maryland, they could go bowling for the first time since 2014. 

The Lions’ finale will be at Michigan State, which has improbably emerged as a College Football Playoff contender thanks to the lift that running back Kenneth Walker III has given to its offense. Walker had 195 yards and five touchdowns against the Wolverines. He’s the Big Ten’s runaway leader in rushing yardage with 1,194 yards and 14 TDs.  

So, as Penn State looks to regroup, it will have to do so against opponents that head into Week 9 sporting a combined record of 24-8. It’s a daunting challenge, but Clifford looked sharp in throwing for 361 yards against the Buckeyes, and Franklin said the team’s effort has never wavered. 

“I think we’ve played hard all year long,” he said. “I know last week [against Illinois] we did not play the way we’re capable of playing, but I thought we’ve played hard all year long against a challenging schedule, especially early on. We didn’t play good enough to win tonight, but we’re close. I’m going to keep working with these guys, loving these guys, and we’ll find a way to get a win next week.”