Penn State-Maryland Takeaways: Warren sets records, helps Lions gain title shot
By Greg Pickel
Penn State is 11-1 at the end of the regular season for the first time in the James Franklin era. The Nittany Lions earned that mark by beating Maryland, 44-7, on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. With their win, the Lions also clinched a trip to Indianapolis for next Saturday’s Big Ten title game. They will face Oregon at 8 p.m. ET inside Lucas Oil Stadium on CBS. There will be plenty of time to discuss that, of course. For now, here are our initial takeaways from the Lions’ regular season finale.
Tyler Warren sets more records
This has been a recurring feature in this piece seemingly every week. With a six-catch, 68-yard performance that included a 7-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter, the Penn State senior became the Big Ten’s all-time single-season receptions leader among tight ends, and he also set the Lions’ all-time touchdowns mark for tight ends with 17. He now has 81 catches for 978 yards and 6 receiving TDs this season.
The records are two more bullet points on his already impressive resume. PSU is pushing for him to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. That may or may not happen, but he’s a shoo-in for the Mackey Award and is in the running for the Paul Hornung Award, as well.
Penn State overcame bouts of inconsistency on offense
The second quarter was terrific for the Penn State offense. The Lions scored 28 unanswered points during the frame and had 208 yards over those 15 minutes. That made many forget about an ugly start to the game for the Lions’ attack. PSU mustered only 51 yards during the opening 15 minutes. Its first four drives netted just 1 yard in 11 plays. It was ugly. The start of the third quarter was not much better. Penn State will not be able to be this inconsistent against the Ducks next Saturday night if it hopes to win what could be a high-scoring affair.
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Lions pass rush shows up
Penn State did not have to blitz often to generate pressure. Its front four defensive linemen created a ton of havoc all by themselves. At the end of the third quarter, the Lions had five sacks, five tackles for loss, and four quarterback hurries. Abdul Carter was a terror for Maryland’s defensive tackles off the edge. After a slow start, coordinator Tom Allen’s group was yet again a dominating, suffocating force.
Odds and ends
—Nicholas Singleton looks back to his old self. He shook off a first-play fumble to finish with two rushing touchdowns and also had a 66-yard kickoff return. The Penn State junior looks explosive again.
–The backups got a ton of fourth-quarter reps that will only help moving forward. This game went pretty much exactly as planned for the Lions. For the most part, the group upheld the standard set by the veteran starters in the program.
