Greetings, Nittany Turkey readers. I’m thrilled today because I get to write about the renewed Penn State vs. Maryland rivalry, a subject about which I have not so much as scratched the surface in preceding diatribes. I’ll take a look at the Terrapins’ only win in the series, well over a half-century ago, as well as the series’ most recent game, itself over two decades ago, in which the Nittany Lions made a statement that would leave a bad taste in the hard-shelled reptiles’ herbivorous mouths for duration of that hiatus. Then, of course, your turkey will preview and predict the 2014 revival game.
Penn State, as you and Maryland alumnus Orlando orthopedic surgeon Dr. Fred Schroeder well know, owns this rivalry-interruptus with a record of 35-1-1. The last time Penn State lost to Maryland was in 1961, and the Terps’ last game against the Nittany Lions was a 70-7 drubbing on their home turf in 1993. Then, following that banishment there was a two-decade hiatus, bringing us to now.
Dr. Schroeder decried the University president’s decision to join the Big Ten. It pissed him off. Why?
“Now we’ll get beaten by Penn State every year, just like we used to,” he said.
I just smiled.
Moving right along…
The Maryland Terrapins (5-3, 2-2 B10/14) invade Beaver Stadium to face the mighty Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3, 1-3). The Terps are coming off a disastrous 52-7 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, whereas y’all know that Penn State was the better team but lost to the Buckeyes 31-24 in double overtime last week at the Big Whited-Out Beave.
O Maryland, My Maryland, PSU Owns Thee!
The Lion’s heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His claws are at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the 70-7 gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland!
Fat chance, me mateys!
Quoth the raven, “Nevermore!”
Maryland has had an up-and-down year, making predictions all the more difficult. They lost to Ohio State 53-24 in Week 6, then came back to beat Iowa 38-31, after a bye week. The following week, they lost big to Wisconsin. The health of quarterback C. J. Brown has been in question from time to time as well, and in the Wisconsin game he wound up with a raw quarterback rating of 8.9. LOL.
Maryland’s Last Win: 1961
I know you’re dying to know what the deal was with the Terps’ sole win in this series, back in 1961, so your turkey is here with some factoids about the letdown much regretted by Penn State fans all the way forward to this day, or at least those who were alive and football conscious in 1961, which would mean they’re probably at least as geezerly as this turkey, if not more so. Penn State was indeed the better team, which I’m pretty sure* was robbed by the officiating gaffes of the time. After all, there were only five officials and no video replays (not that that seems to matter much fifty years later), so how the hell could they see everything? Forthwith, I present the aforementioned factoids, heavily weighted toward Penn State because I don’t have easy access to the Maryland information from that time:
- Penn State wound up that year 8-3, the losses being to Miami (25-8), Army (10-6), and Maryland (21-17)
- Maryland finished 7-3 but did not compete in the post-season
- Penn State amazingly shut out Eastern powerhouse Syracuse (14-0) that year
- Penn State wound up the season ranked 17th in the AP Poll
- Penn State was invited to the Gator Bowl where they beat Georgia Tech 30-15
- Penn State was coached by Rip Engle
- St. Joe was assistant coach for Penn State
- Penn State’s quarterback was future University of Florida head coach and Penn State offensive brain trust co-genius Galen Hall, then a senior
- Future Penn State quarterback Pete Liske played primarily as a defensive safety and alternated with Don Caum as backup QB
- Future Penn State quarterback Gary Wydman was on the roster as one platoon right halfback
- Fifth-year senior and future UCF head coach Don Jonas was on the Penn State roster as a kicker and right halfback, but was injured mid-season and limited to kicking duty
- Future Penn State offensive brain-trust coach and Rutgers head coach Dick Anderson was the second-string right end for Penn State
- Maryland was coached by Tom Nugent, who was the last Maryland coach to win his inaugural game back in 1959 until Ralph “Fridge” Friedgen did it in 2001
- Maryland under Nugent was the first college team to put names on their jerseys in 1961
- Nugent’s best year at Maryland was — you guessed it! — 1961
- Lee Corso of ridiculous ESPN headgear fame was an assistant coach under Nugent at Maryland
Penn State’s Last Win: 1993
The 1993 Penn State team was poised for greatness. Finishing the year 10-2 with a quasi-shocking 31-13 win over Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl and being ranked #8 would have been good enough, but the following year would turn out to be a legendary year in Penn State football lore.
Going into the Maryland game, the boys had summarily dispatched five opponents in their first Big 10/11 season. They destroyed the Terps 70-7, ending the rivalry on a high note (but not for Doc Schroeder) as the two schools would compete in separate conferences thenceforth.
You all know the big names of the time: Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Kyle Brady, Jeff Hartings & Marco Rivera, Jon Witman, Bobby Engram, Mike Archie — in no particular order. They all wound up playing in the NFL. I believe you know the coach of the time (he’s real fine, my 409) St. Joseph Vincent Paterno. Finally, as you are well aware, the next year was an undefeated, Rose Bowl winning, robbed-by-the-polls, shoulda been Mythical National Championship year for Penn State.
Maryland would go on to finish that season 2-9, its worst finish in two decades. Predictably and understandably, it was Terp head coach Joe Krivak’s final season. Oy vay!
That Was Then and This Is Now
No one is quite sure just how to categorize Maryland in their inaugural Big 10/14 season, although they’re ahead of Penn State in the Big Ten division standings. (Maybe not in the K. John “should have won” standings, though.)
Normally, I’d look at their defense and laugh, saying that Penn State should have a banner day like 1993, but a score more like 1961’s is probably in the offing. Maryland’s up-and-down year suggests that they might actually play a decent game coming into Beaver Stadium, and Penn State’s penchant for petulantly forgetting to come out of the blocks until a half has been played, especially given the noon start, suggests that it won’t be a high scoring game, I’m pretty sure.*
The Smurfs’ defense proved themselves last week against Ohio State, which to this turkey means Maryland ain’t going to be doing much scoring. I’m even hoping to see new freshman starting safety Marcus Allen pick off a C. J. Brown pass. My big Penn State question mark remains the offensive line and the highly dependent running game.
I’m somewhat optimistic about the PSU running game in this one. Akeel Lynch will have a greater role, as he has since Zach Zwinak’s season-ending injury incurred on the first play of the tOSU game. Lynch knows how to get into the open and run his balls off. Athough he’s no Ameer Abdullah or Melvin Gordon, Maryland’s rushing defense ranks second-worst only to Illinois in the conference. So, the deficient Penn State offensive line might feel as empowered as they did against UMass. A last in the conference rushing offense facing a second worst rushing defense. No wonder the game is on ESPN2.
Penn State’s passing offense still ranks second in the conference. It will face a pass defense ranked eleventh. Therein lies the seeds of some dramatic football, if Penn State doesn’t shoot itself in the foot, or have its feet shot at by the officiating crew.† In spite of the crappy ranking for the Terps passing defense, cornerback William Likely is likely to give Christian Hackenberg some trouble. He’s a shut-down corner who leads the conference in interceptions with four through eight games, including one pick-six he ran back for 88 yards. The sophomore has broken up five passes thus far. So, Hack better be damn careful on his side of the field. One hopes that the offensive line will give him enough time to find some free receivers and make accurate, non-tentative throws.
Maryland’s leading rusher is quarterback C. J. Brown, and they have been pretty crappy on the run, ranking 11th in the conference. Advantage, mighty Penn State front seven!
However, the Maryland passing offense has been prolific, averaging 236 yards per game. Against a somewhat mediocre Penn State secondary, they might have some decent opportunities if Brown has one of his good days. Brown’s completion rate is over fifty-five percent, and he has two great receivers in Stefon Diggs and Deon Long.
The two schools rank similarly in the middle of the pack in turnover margin, but if you boil out the Gary “Turn” Nova gifts, as I am wont to do, Penn State is still trailing the pack. The forecast calls for showers, so PSU needs to take special care of the ball, youknowwhatImean?
Penn State is number one in the conference in red zone defense; Maryland is number two only to Nebraska, in red zone offense. Something’s gotta give. In such match-ups, though, defense usually wins out.
Moving on to special teams, Penn State sucks throughout, except for field goal kicking, but even there, the Terps field goal kicker, junior Brad Craddock, leads the conference with no misses, a perfect 12-12. His longest was 57 yards, a long-standing record in the NFL until the New Orleans Saint’s right foot toeless Tom Dempsey came along in 1970, but I digress. The aforementioned wide receiver Stefon Diggs leads the conference in average kick return yards facing a Penn State kickoff coverage unit that ranks eleventh, while the aforementioned ace cornerback William Likely likely leads the B10/14 in punt returns averaging 16.3 yards with a long of 69 and one touchdown against a Penn State punting unit that suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks (read this as ranked 12 out of 14). A likely story, verily‡.
Let us hope that special teams’ suckage doesn’t get in the way.
Poised for a Breakout Game?
I’ve seen it written that this game could be a great breakout game for the Penn State offense. I’m kind of on the fence about that because of the natural elation following an excellent effort last week against Ohio State, at least after the crappy first half. I think a lot (all) depends on how well Christian Hackenberg can be protected, allowing his self-confidence to be restored to early season levels. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions must come out ready to play from the opening kickoff. No sleeping through the first half here! You know the history with regard to noon games.
So, yeah, this could be a good game for Hack, Lynch, and the rest of the offense if they mind their Ps and Qs. Hack likely will have to be careful to avoid throwing to the crafty Likely, and the offensive line will have to do a decent job, with Maryland tied for third in the conference in sacks.
They can do it, methinks. Call me a Sanguinarian.
Da Wedda
Yeah, verily, we’re into the crappy Central Pennsylvania weather period. No Native-American Summer here, already. Showers are forecast with a cold, clammy high of 46º. A wet field and a wet ball, along with cold hands, creates turnover opportunities, so hang the hell onto the ball, Lions!
We Get da Broad!
The ESPN2 broadcast crew this week is supposed to be captained by Beth Mowins, with analyst Joey Galloway and sideline blonde Paul Carcaterra. I don’t think he’s actually blonde, but I don’t think he’s a Crested Caracara, either, verily, but I digress. I have dubbed this week Babe Announcer Week.
Distinguished Alumna
Given that this week is Babe Announcer Week, I’ve decided to choose an alumna instead of an alumnus. I had quite a few alumnae from whom to choose, including Carly Fiorina, who is well-known to us in the tech industry and who also ran for office in California, but today, I decided to memorialize a member of the ill-fated Challenger crew, Judith Resnik.
Judith Resnik was an overachiever for her entire life, tragically cut short in 1986 at the age of 36 by the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. She had a perfect score on her SAT while at Firestone High School in Akron, easily obtaining admission to Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a BSEE in 1970. In 1977, Resnik earned a PhD, also in electrical engineering, at the University of Maryland.
She worked at RCA and Xerox prior to being recruited into the astronaut program in 1978. Resnik first flew on the shuttle as a mission specialist in 1984. She was the first American Jewish woman to go into space and only the second Jew to go into space after Boris Volynov of what was then the Soviet Union.
Among other things, such as her brilliance, Resnik was noted for her prolific hair in a world dominated by buzz-cut men.
Ms. Resnik spent a total of six days in space.
The IEEE posthumously established an award to recognize outstanding contributions in space engineering; it is dubbed the Judith A. Resnik Award. The main engineering lecture hall at the University of Maryland is named for her, as well as a dorm at Carnegie Mellon University. Finally, she is one of the few people to have a crater on the moon named after her.
A wonderfully productive life tragically cut short. That is Judith Resnik’s story.
Brass Tacks: The Official Turkey Poop Prediction
It is time for that big feature, the Official Turkey Poop Prediction for the 2014 edition of Maryland vs. Penn State. With the exception of Big Al, our Nittany Turkey Panel of Experts‘ pre-season picks all went the way of the Lion. The gambling line on this game favors the Nittany Lions by four points, with an over/under of 47.5. The spread has widened from the opening at PSU – 2.5. This suggests a Penn State victory with a final score around 26-22. I don’t think Maryland will score 22 against this PSU defense, and I think it will be a sloppy game, especially if the weather forecast holds true and PSU doesn’t bother to play until the second half. So, I’m pretty sure* this game will wind up being a Penn State win, with a score I’m pretty sure* will be 20-13, with Maryland’s TD being on either an interception, kick, or punt return, and otherwise restricted to field goals. Take the under. Of course, I’m pretty sure* I’ll be wrong, too, as I usually am. But you don’t make or lose a lot of money mind-betting.
So, with 7/12ths of a regular season under our belts, what do you readers think about this team and its chances against the Terps? Any changes from your original predictions?
I’ll be back with a recap and a smirk after the game.
______
*See last week’s definition of “I’m pretty sure.”
†No, K. John didn’t pay me off to write that!
‡Elizabethan for the current vogue vacuosity “seriously”.
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Michael Geldner says
Nice write-up! Wonderful review of the history between the two schools. I could care less about Carly Fiorina, but I particularly liked the recognition of Astronaut Judith Resnik. Now, regarding the game, since I have no idea how these two modern teams will fare against one another, even given the excellent account of the history between them, I’ll predict the ridiculous score of 33-15 with a home team advantage.
The Nittany Turkey says
Well, I hope they score 33, but their history this year of not having scored more than 17 points in regulation time in a Big Ten game suggests that you’re being somewhat generous with your admittedly ridiculous score — and I thought I was the generous one with my 20 point prediction. I believe in home field advantage in games where the crowd is involved and noisy like the tOSU game, but when the student section is half empty for the first quarter as will be the case for this game, and when they start booing the punter(s), it ain’t worth as much. The noon start tells me not to expect much scoring in the first half.
As for the Terps, did you get to 15 with five field goals, two touchdowns with a one- and two- point conversion, or a touchdown, two field goals and a safety? LOL. I’m just being a dick.
And yes, I got your email about showing up at The Cave this week, for a change. I’m happy to know that you’re back in town and I’m delighted to have your company, as always, Mike. As for what you can bring, besides your ass, I’ll think about it and let you know. My menu is still up in the air.
—TNT
K. John says
I am on travel this week so I haven’t actually had time to take a close look at Maryland but based on the Wisconsin game, they are having a real problem keeping their QBs healthy. C.J. Brown has been battling injuries for the few weeks. His backup is done for the year. If Brown goes down, they have to turn to the third teamer who is apparently a third teamer for the Turtles for a reason.
I think Penn State comes out with a chip on their shoulders after last week’s game. I am looking for Zettel, Barnes and Hull to have good days on defense keeping Brown on the move and making sure he can’t get the ball to Diggs forcing a couple of turnovers along the way. Offensively, I liked the improvements the O-line made and the changes in personnel groupings and formations.
I think the game starts out low scoring with Maryland getting a couple of early scores like just about every other team State has played, but with the new free safety starting his second game, what would have been touchdowns a few weeks ago turn into field goals. Penn State pulling ahead in the second half after the defense clamps down and moves on with a victory that is not as close as the score.
Penn State 24, Maryland 6
The Nittany Turkey says
Seems reasonable to me, although the chip on the shoulder probably won’t be felt right out of the starting gate, just as you suggested. By the time they realize it’s there — namely, the second half — Maryland will have six on the scoreboard.
I guess it ain’t all that bad to be a second-half team.
I liked Marcus Allen’s play in the tOSU game and I’m cautiously optimistic about his future at Penn State. That one touchdown given up as directly as a result of Keiser’s play in the Michigan game sticks in everyone’s mind, so we see hope in Allen’s aggressiveness in playing the ball. But we have a sample of a single game, not enough for statistical inference. He appears to represent an improvement in the secondary — time will tell. His inaugural effort, inserted unexpectedly into the biggest game of the year, was replete with pumped-up, youthful enthusiasm, but we’ll have to see how he performs as the season grinds on with noon starts, bumps and bruises, and maybe a couple more losses.
—TNT
Joe says
So crappy weather and we don’t know what time the team has their alarm’s set to begin playing serious football-so what else is new at the Beav in November in recent years!
Short and sweet; I think the Lions defense contains Brown and Diggs and I think the offense scores a couple rushing touchdowns (Akeel, I’m looking at you), Hackenburg gets one via the air, Ficken knuckleballs one through the uprights and Diefenbach gets to play a couple of series on the line.
Yeah it won’t be pretty, but I think (hope) that they found out somethng about themselves last week and it carries forward. PSU 24-Maryland 13.
The Nittany Turkey says
You forgot about the safety, when Brown is crushed by Barnes in the end zone after an improbable Gulla punt that pins Maryland inside the five, whereupon two runs are stopped cold, forcing a pass on third and long, which is when it happens.
What? Who said I don’t have an imagination.
—TNT
BigAl says
I remember the 1961 game vividly. It was on the first day of turkey season and it was the last time I went hunting in Renovo with my father. Normally we would have driven to Renovo on Friday night, but I played an away game that Friday. So Dad decided to blow off the first day of the season (he had to be in position by daybreak) and listen to the Maryland game while we drove up.
State lost the game on 3 touchdown passes thrown by Dick Shiner (from Lebanon PA) to Gary Collins (from Williamstown PA). Both of them went on to pedestrian pro careers that were still better than the NFL careers of most Penn State quarterbacks and receivers.
So, for the sake of nostalgia, my prediction is Maryland 21 Penn State 17. The offense plays its usual shitty 1st half and another 4th quarter comeback falls short – stopped by some questionable penalty flags from the B1G zebras. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes
The Nittany Turkey says
Turkey season. I’m cringing here.
It is cool that you remember the game, such a long time ago. Question is, do you remember where you put your keys yesterday?
I don’t remember Shiner at all, but Gary Collins played for the Browns for a long time. I’d bet that Bobby Engram played in the NFL longer. I know. You said most.
Watch out for those phantom holding calls on the PSU O-line. They can’t play, and they never learned how to cheat properly. In the meanwhile, I hope the technical difficulties with the replay booth are resolved after having been sabotaged by Urbz’s covert operatives.
Your nostalgic prediction is duly noted, as is the pearl of wisdom presented in your final sentence.
—TNT
K. John says
Only one comment. Maryland is dirty. I lost track at the number of cheap shots they took in this game. Pathetic. So much for player safety meaning something.
Joe says
Five traffic cones would make a better O-line than the one we have now! Per Randy Edsall’s post game “Let the rivalry begin!”
K. John says
There is no rivalry. Yes the offensive line could have played better but Maryland was head hunting. No less than five Terp defenders should have been ejected and at least a dozen personal fouls should have been called.
K. John says
Perhaps the biggest no call of the game was on the final drive when the defender went helmet to helmet with Hack on the third down play. Unbelievable. While the better team probably still would have lost, much like the Michigan and the off sides that didn’t happen, Penn State was denied a shot to win it in the end by biased or incompetent officials. This is why we need to leave the Big Ten (I know we won’t but they should).
K. John says
Just rewatched a few plays. Yes at least a dozen personal fouls should have been thrown on Maryland but the ejection comment was not accurate. While they should have drawn personal fouls, they didn’t warrant ejection for targeting. My apologies for a inaccurate statement.
The Nittany Turkey says
I like that. Five traffic cones. Yep!
—TNT
K. John says
Just finished rewatching the game in its entirety. Time to warm up the fire John Donovan signs. They spent the entire game shuffling the o-line. I’m now convinced that the times the offense is effective and they show signs of getting it from a play calling perspective are mere mirages and that the old adage, “a stopped clock is right twice an day” is more applicable. Donovan is more incompetent than Big Ten officiating and that is saying a lot.
The season is lost. The coaching staff has done the improbable. They wasted the best quarterback and defense in the Big Ten. They are good enough to be 8 and 0 right now but they are 4 and 4. They have lost to three inferior teams they had no business losing to regardless of the state of the offensive line and were good enough to beat Ohio State despite the officiating jackassery that went on last Saturday but didn’t. The only thing left to look forward to this year is getting two more wins so they have the extra fifteen practices. That is it. Regardless, I just released my hotel room in Harrisburg for Temple and canceled my travel plans for Michigan State.
See you next season.
Joe says
Your reaction is just plain silly. So get the 2 wins, get the extra practices and go to a bowl game! What’s wrong with that? To me, it wasn’t about 6, 7, 8, or 9 wins this year, it’s all about getting out of this season with some extra prep time for ’15 now that the bowl ban has been dumped. Nothing was going to happen until 2016 anyway.
And no they are not good enough to be 8-0 right now. You can’t run an effective offense, when you don’t have a line to open holes for your backs and you can’t read progressions nor have receivers get any kind of separation when you’ve got maybe 1-2 seconds before Hackenburg has to throw the ball or get ass planted.
So I guess bye-bye, see you back on the band wagon in a couple of years.
The Nittany Turkey says
Don’t bail, K.John. There’s a lot of that going on this year — another example is Todd Sponsler deciding to give up PSU blogging. Yeah, there’s a lot to be disgusted about this season, but it’s still Penn State Football. We have our mutual obsession to feed and nurture.
I don’t believe in externalization, but the sanctions sure as hell heaped a big burden on this team, as did some misguided recruiting. We have to live with that, as we do with other things over which we have no control, such as officiating. All I want to do is watch our guys put out a great effort every week, win or lose. If I get that, I’m content. If not, I bitch.
There are many flaws in this 2014 Penn State team. Two glaring examples are the offensive line and punting/return game. Given those deficiencies, there is no way they could have hoped for great success.
I think the Hackenberg situation is reaching criticality and the brain-trust better put some effort into keeping Hack motivated and healthy lest we lose him. I see his motivation flagging more and more, publicly, too.
—TNT
K. John says
I am not bailing, I just do not think the return on the investment in time and treasure to travel to State College is worth it at this point. Instead of heading up for Temple, I have decided to stay local and head over to College Park and watch Sparty lay a whooping on Maryland. Tickets are dirt cheap and it is only half an hour away.
As for Hack, I am not worried about him. I think he will be fine. This season reminds me a lot of the 2012 season for Michigan State. While that team did not have a QB, it had a revolving door on the O-line and an offense that didn’t hold its own while the defense did everything it could. They turned it around in 2013. By the end of the season, they had the best offense in the Big Ten and the nation’s top D. I can see something similar happening next year in State College.