Penn State-Maryland: Start time, channel, how to watch and stream

No. 9 Penn State (7-1) will take on Maryland (5-3) today as the Nittany Lions attempt to keep their slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.

The Nittany Lions certainly have history on their side. Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014, and since then, the Nittany Lions have lost to the Terrapins just twice, most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic season in 2020.

In fact, Penn State has never lost to Maryland while being ranked in the Top 25, and the Lions’ overall record against the Terps is 42-3-1.

After winning a surprising tough game against a bad Indiana team last week, Penn State head coach James Franklin suggested critics judge the Lions’ “ugly wins” differently than other college football programs.

“There’s teams that are ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 in the country, and they struggle to get a win. And no one talks about that,” Franklin said during his weekly press conference. “But when we struggle to get a win, or it’s not as pretty, then everybody, like, is overly concerned, in my opinion.”

Ultimately, it won’t matter much if Penn State doesn’t defeat Maryland today and then finds some way to upset undefeated Michigan next week at Beaver Stadium. Among those not optimistic about the chances of that happening is veteran ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum.

“Penn State’s a good team, but we buried Penn State last week,” Finebaum said of Franklin during an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show earlier this week. “They still have the same coach, and that’s the problem.”

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Penn State-Maryland game:

Today’s Penn State-Maryland game will air at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Fox.

Calling the game for Fox will be Jason Benetti and Brock Huard. Allison Williams will report from the sidelines at SECU Stadium in College Park, Md., the Terrapins’ home since it first opened in 1950.

You can also tune into 1210 WPHT. Calling the game on the radio will be longtime play-by-play announcer Steve Jones, joined by NFL Hall of Famer and former Nittany Lions linebacker Jack Ham.

Penn State-Maryland will stream on the Fox Sports app, but you’ll need a cable subscription to log in.

The game also will stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you’re looking to stream the game for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is using a digital antenna, since the game will air on broadcast television on Fox29.

It goes without saying that Penn State’s hopes of a College Football Playoff berth have been almost completely derailed by their loss to Ohio State.

This week, Penn State landed at No. 11 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State (No. 1) and Michigan (No. 3).

Penn State’s only real shot at somehow climbing back into contention is to defeat Michigan on Nov. 11 at Beaver Stadium, and root for the Wolverines to take down the Buckeyes on Nov. 25.

That would leave all three teams at 11-1 and tied atop the Big Ten East. The tiebreaker would come down to their conference record against their Big Ten West opponents, according to Penn Live’s Johnny McGonigal, which Penn State could win if the final few weeks play out in the Nittany Lions’ favor.

Georgia, Florida State, and Washington remain undefeated, and Oklahoma and Alabama look as though they can win out. So to sneak back into the College Football Playoff, Penn State fans would also have to root for chaos during the final weeks of the season.

Unlikely? Yes, but not impossible. After all, Ohio State was ranked No. 16 in the first ever College Football Playoff ranking in 2014 and still made it to the championship game, where it defeated Oregon.

This is the final year with a four-team playoff field, which will expand to 12 teams next season.

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