Penn State quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] showed visible signs of improvement after a couple of tough performances the past couple of weeks, and he could not have done it at a better time. Allar passed for 240 yards and four touchdowns in Penn State’s 41-15 road win at Maryland on Saturday afternoon to improve the Nittany Lions to 8-1 this season and keeping the Nittany Lions in the thick of the Big Ten East Division race.
Penn State’s defense set the tone right from the start of the game with a big fourth-down stop against the Maryland offense on the game’s opening possession. Penn State started its first possession of the day from the Maryland 44-yard line and capped the drive with the first of two touchdown catches from Allar to wide receiver [autotag]Dante Cephas[/autotag].
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was locked in at the start of the game by completing his first 17 pass attempts for 172 yards in the first half. But the Penn State defense brought timely pressure and knocked him off his game as the game wore on. Tagovailoa ended his day with 286 passing yards and 2 touchdowns but also 1 interception and a lost fumble. Penn State sacked Tagovailoa a total of 6 times and the Nittany Lions had 12 TFL in the win.
Allar’s two touchdown passes to Cephas showed great touch to both sides of the field as Cephas had the ball placed in the perfect spots as he neared the edges of the end zone. They are arguably two of the best passes Allar has had this season.
[autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 91 rushing yards, meaning Penn State once again did not have a 100-yard rusher in a game this season. Allen scored a rushing touchdown and [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] added 20 rushing yards and 68 kickoff return yards.
For the 9th time this season, Penn State held its opponent scoreless in the third quarter. That helped Penn State build on its 21-7 lead at halftime up to 24-7 entering the fourth quarter, and Penn State pulled away with 27 more points in the fourth quarter to close things out.
Penn State will return home next week for a showdown with Michigan. Kickoff is set for 12 pm ET as the Fox Big Noon Kickoff Game. Penn State has dropped two straight games to the Wolverines, including the 2021 matchup in Beaver Stadium that helped lead Michigan to their first Big Ten title under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
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