2023 Penn State football game grades| Maryland

No. 11 Penn State got back to its pre-Ohio State loss form against Maryland on Saturday with a 51-15 win.

The blowout performance from College Park is the most points the Nittany Lions have scored on the road to this point of the 2023 season.

With the blue and white seemingly getting back on track after a 20-12 loss to Ohio State and a close 33-24 victory over Indiana, all eyes look to the report card before a noon kickoff against Michigan in Week 11.

Offense: A

Mike Yurcich and Drew Allar have gotten this offense going since the sophomore quarterback threw his first career interception against the Hoosiers in Week 9.

Since that moment, Penn State has scored on 10 of its past 14 drives, which has resulted in 58 points and two wins over conference opponents. Two of the four drives that the unit failed to score on were two kneels that ended the game against Indiana and sent the game into halftime against Maryland.

Against the Terrapins on Saturday, Allar threw for 240 yards and four touchdowns. The Ohio native also broke off for a long 21-yard rush, which added to his 39 total rushing yards on the day.

Kaytron Allen carried the rest of the rushing attack with 14 rushes for 91 yards and a late touchdown that put the game to bed.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith connected with Allar eight times for 95 yards to help get the Nittany Lions down towards the end zone for Dante Cephas to haul in a career-high two touchdowns.

Yurcich got creative with his play calling for Theo Johnson’s solo touchdown of the day that saw Beau Pribula taking the snap and Allar out wide. With it being Michigan week, we could see more of this in one of Penn State’s biggest matchups of the year.

This is the first “A” for the offense since its 63-0 beat down over UMass. It’ll be interesting to see if it can keep it going against the Wolverines.

Defense: A-

Manny Diaz’s defensive unit steps up after an iffy outing against Indiana last week to hold Maryland to 15 points and 234 yards of total offense.

The pass rush was the name of the game for the blue and white as it got to Taulia Tagovailoa six different times throughout 60 minutes. Not to mention the 12 tackles for loss that contributed to the Terrapin’s two positive rushes on the day and -49 rushing yards.

Penn State’s defense provided four turnovers that the offense used to put 13 points on the scoreboard.

Adisa Isaac forced a fumble on the second drive of the first quarter that halted a solid drive from the Terrapins. Dominic DeLuca was next in line with an interception in the fourth quarter that took the starters out of the game.

Tony Rojas grabbed an interception and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter. The first year’s first career turnovers came in back-to-back drives as the Nittany Lions closed the game against the Terrapins.

The main reason why Penn State does not deserve an “A+” is from the struggle in the secondary that led to Maryland throwing for 283 yards and its only two touchdowns of the day.

Special Teams: A-

Alex Felkins was perfect on the day, three for three from 30, 35 and 39 yards out, including all of Penn State’s extra points.

Riley Thompson was on the sidelines for most of the day. He recorded two punts for 89 yards.

Nicholas Singleton broke off a 51-yard return in the back half of the game that set the Nittany Lions well in Maryland territory.

Coaching: A

Head coach James Franklin leads his team to its third straight win over Maryland in as many years.

Yurcich was extremely creative on the offensive side that saw Pribula take some valuable reps, Allar fling the ball across the field and a consistent rushing attack from Allen and Singleton.

Diaz has yet to allow any team to score on him in the opening drive or third quarter in 2023. He continues to draw up different blitz packages that succeed and pay dividends down the line.

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