2023 Penn State football film review | Maryland

Forget a gold rush, No. 11 Penn State steamrolled Maryland in College Park 51-15.

The Nittany Lion offense found an explosive spark with quarterback Drew Allar at the helm, which correlated to a strong defensive stunt holding the Terrapins to –49 rushing yards — the fewest by an FBS team this season.

A creative playbook left a lot to break down with Michigan’s Happy Valley arrival on the horizon.

Michael Bolger and Amanda Vogt evaluate the pivotal moments of Penn State’s latest matchup.

Amanda

Play we liked: 1st&10 UMD 10 – Kaytron Allen touchdown

Early in the fourth quarter, Maryland pulled within 16 before Penn State used the remaining 11:17 to score 20 points.

Allen rushed for a team-high 91 yards in the game and was a force to be reckoned with — the Terrapins struggled to put him on the ground. His ability to stay on his feet and plow through defenders gained him additional yards after the initial contact.

On first-and-goal, Penn State lined up in the t-formation, and Allen received the handoff from Allar. He rushed left, and by the time he reached the five-yard line, the entire offensive line pushed him to the end zone.

This was Allen’s fourth touchdown of the season, and this was a game where a lot was expected from the running backs. While the offense succeeded primarily through the air, finding balance on the ground is a must with a tough opponent on deck.

Play we didn’t like: 4th&21 UMD 46 – Roughing the kicker penalty keeps Terrapins on offense

After Penn State scored its second touchdown, Maryland was breaking into Nittany Lion territory before the defense attacked Taulia Tagovailoa.

The loss of 12 yards from Johnny Dixon’s sack forced Colton Spangler to punt it away; however, Liam Clifford brought the Terrapins back on offense after getting penalized for roughing the punter.

In an attempt to block the punt, Clifford missed the ball by a few inches but still took down Spangler in the process.

Regaining possession allowed Maryland to score its first points of the game just four plays later. Even though Penn State ended up winning by such a large margin, mistakes on special teams have proven costly.

The Nittany Lions had seven penalties, costing them 74 yards. Most seemed preventable, including Clifford’s, so the discipline of this team needs to increase before the Wolverines come to town.

Unique play: 3rd&2 UMD 2 – Beau Pribula → Allar → Johnson → Touchdown

James Franklin has hinted at an offensive package that would include both Pribula and Allar for several weeks, and against Maryland, it was finally revealed. Penn State fans rejoice, it actually exists!

Pribula was present during Penn State’s second offense stunt as the playbook’s trickery was unlocked. It was quite uncharacteristic to see these looks from the offense, considering how conservative it tends to be, but it was a pleasant surprise.

It’s third-and-goal, and both QBs were on the field: Allar in the shotgun and Pribula wide to the right quickly became Allar wide to the left and Pribula in the shotgun. The initial movement provided the Terrapins with more confusion as the snap reached Pribula’s hands.

Allar running in from the left received the pitch from Pribula but faced immediate pressure. Reading his options, as he quite literally was falling face-first into the turf, Allar got a pass off to Johnson for the touchdown.

Just watch:

The explosiveness of Penn State’s offense was unquestionable, and adding plays that included this package of the two QBs provided game-defining unpredictability.

Being able to test these plays out before facing Michigan was a smart decision to see how a reaction from a defense that didn’t wear the Nittany Lion blue and white would play out.

Allar facing that pressure wasn’t how the play was designed, so Penn State will have the time to adapt these play calls before arguably its biggest game of the season.

Mike

Play we liked: Allar connects with Dante Cephas in opposite corners of the end zone.

Penn State has been on the hunt for a wide receiver two and three throughout the grueling 2023 season. KeAndre Lambert-Smith and the trio of tight ends have provided enough of the workload, but on Saturday, the Nittany Lions looked for a new weapon for Allar’s arsenal.

On the opening drive of the game, Mike Yurcich looked to get the offense in the end zone off of the accuracy of his starting quarterback.

On 1st and goal from the UMD 6, Penn State put seven players on the line of scrimmage with a wide receiver to the top and bottom of the play as Allar sat with Nicholas Singleton in the backfield.

Allar immediately took the snap and lofted one to the near side of the endzone for Cephas to go track down. The redshirt senior got by the corner, drifted toward the sideline and caught the ball over the shoulder while toe-dragging and the corner all over him.

This has to be in contention for the best throw and catch of the season, and when the Nittany Lion’s faithful thought the offense cashed in its only play of the day, they got another surprise.

Entering the fourth quarter on the Maryland 15-yard line, Allar went to Cephas again but on the opposite side of the end zone.

Cephas beat the corner off the ball and used his speed to gain the separation needed to make the play. While the catch wasn’t as flashy as the previous one, it was still impressive to see Allar accurately place the ball for his receiver to track down.

The final touchdown of Allar’s day put the Nittany Lions up 31-7 and the game to rest as 13 minutes remained in regulation.

Play we didn’t like: 1st&Goal PSU 7 — Taulia Tagovailoa buys to find Roman Hemby for the touchdown.

Down 14-0 through the first 22 minutes of play, Maryland drove down to the red zone after a Liam Clifford penalty on special teams kept its drive alive.

The Terrapins stacked seven men on the offensive line seven yards away from the goal line with two wide receivers to the near side and a running back with Tagovailoa in the backfield.

Off of the snap, Penn State rushed four and dropped seven back into coverage, three of which guarded the endzone while the rest hung around the middle of the field. Tagovailoa faced immediate pressure from the Penn State rush and was forced to roll out to his left.

Abdul Carter saw that the senior quarterback was out of the pocket and wasted no time sprinting at him to blow the play up. However, he left Kobe King alone to guard Corey Dyches at the goal line and Hemby in the flat.

As you can see, it did not pan out as King stayed with Dyches downfield, which left Hemby alone to walk in for six.

Carter has been an overall stellar player for the Nittany Lions throughout 2022 and 2023, but his ability to drop back into coverage will be an area to improve.

Unique Play: 3rd&4 from PSU 41 — Allar turns on the wheels for a 21-yard run

Maryland had just scored to make it a 14-7 game halfway through the second quarter, and Penn State faced a third down at midfield. If the Nittany Lions failed to convert here, we could be talking about a different first-half outcome, grade and reaction from the fans.

Luckily for the blue and white, it has a 6-5 242 lb quarterback to rely on to pick up the first down.

Facing a six-man rush, Allar faked the handoff and looked to the far side of the field, where he had Theo Johnson on a bubble screen that was blown up as Tyler Warren was overwhelmed by two defenders.

Allar recognized that the play was not going to work, so he took off with the entirety of the middle of the field open for him to work with. The sophomore quarterback picked up a key block from Nicholas Singleton on the safety that allowed him to run for an extra 15 yards before he was taken down at the Maryland 38-yard line.

Despite his jersey being stretched out, Allar kept the drive alive long enough to find Warren in the corner of the end zone to go up 21-7.

Amanda Vogt is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email amandaevogt@gmail.com.

Micheal Bolger is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mpb6233@psu.edu.