Penn State turns on the jets in the fourth quarter to cruise past Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Wide receiver Dante Cephas angled toward the back-right corner of the end zone, tracking a back-shoulder fade from quarterback Drew Allar. Cephas corralled the ball with only his right hand, sticking his left foot just short of the sideline.

Initially ruled out of bounds, the call was overturned to give Cephas, a Kent State transfer, his first Penn State touchdown. It opened a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, as the No. 11 Nittany Lions coasted to a 51-15 win at Maryland.

“It’s a win-win for everybody. That’s what you want. You want Dante to have the type of success that he wants to have in terms of helping our team be successful,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Hope it’s a big confidence booster for him and for us as well and we can build on it.”

Cephas struck again in the fourth quarter, hauling in another beautiful over-the-shoulder pass down the left side of the end zone. He had a step on his defender, and Allar dropped his pass in the bread basket.

Cephas’ season-best performance (6 catches, 53 yards, and two touchdowns) was an important one. While KeAndre Lambert-Smith looked strong again with 95 yards, Penn State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) has struggled with wide receiver depth throughout the season. It lost bona fide No. 2 option Harrison Wallace III to injury against Indiana.

“Having another guy that people gotta worry about on film, it changes everything,” Franklin said. “When there’s one guy that people are concerned about, a lot of defenses can can figure out a way to make that challenging. But now there’s multiple guys, the tight ends, multiple receivers that are making plays. It’s a real positive.”

Running back Kaytron Allentook a T-formation handoff, ran left, and was met quickly near the line of scrimmage. Allen then carried nearly every player on the field with him to the end zone for 10 yards — flexing his biceps in Terrapins safety Beau Brade’s face as the Nittany Lions went on to outscore Maryland, 27-8, in the fourth quarter.

“That touchdown really just shows our mentality on that whole package, that whole formation. Just kind of grinding it out and the guys pushing the pile. That’s how Kaytron runs the ball,” tight end Theo Johnson said. “Never stops running his feet, always has a chip on his shoulder when he’s running. So that was really cool to see today.”

Maryland got scoring contributions on receptions from running back Roman Hemby and Jeshaun Jones. The Penn State defense committed two drive-extending personal fouls on each drive.

Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who started the game with a career-high 17 straight completed passes, and backup quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. turned the ball over on three straight drives in the fourth quarter on two interceptions and a strip sack. That led to a Beau Pribula rushing touchdown and a pair of field goals for Penn State.

Tight ends Johnson and Tyler Warren also caught touchdowns from Allar, giving Penn State its nation-leading 11th and 12th touchdowns from tight ends. Kicker Alex Felkins went 3-for-3, from 30, 35, and 39 yards, to round out the scoring.

“Felkins has really done a nice job and has gotten very comfortable,” Franklin said. “That’s been a real positive for us.”

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Allar had easily his best performance of the season. The sophomore threw for 240 yards and four touchdowns on 74% passing. He also recorded a season-high with 39 yards on the ground — including two designed draws.

Allar connected on five passes that went for 15-plus yards. Franklin credited first- and second-down efficiency as a key for Penn State’s offense Saturday.

“It just feels like you’re out there playing, and just really smooth is how I describe it,” Allar said of getting in the groove on Saturday. “Once you find that rhythm, it’s really hard to break it. I think you just need to stay in the moment and just stay calm and present.”

Penn State’s defense swarmed, sacking Tagovailoa six times and holding the Terps to negative-49 rushing yards. Linebacker Dom DeLuca snagged his second interception of the season, while Abdul Carter had six tackles and a sack in his best performance of the season.

It was overall a strong day for Nittany Lions linebackers, including Curtis Jacobs (1½ sacks) and Kobe King (five tackles). Freshman Tony Rojas came out of nowhere in the fourth quarter to collect the strip sack and an interception on consecutive drives.

“For [Carter] to play well, within the constraints of our defense, allows us to be really successful. When Abdul’s is playing well, Kobe and Curt and the other guys that rotated as well — I mean, Dom DeLuca is the man. What about Rojas?” Franklin said. “It’s pretty cool seeing those guys come in and make plays. When Abdul is playing well, and that unit’s playing well, then we’re difficult to deal with.”

Tagovailoa had an impressive performance before the fourth quarter and finished with 286 yards on 29 of 39 passing (22 of 25 for 211 yards and a touchdown in the first half). He simply got no help in the run game and seemed to get more desperate as the clock marched toward zero.

In the final seconds of the first quarter, with Penn State at third-and-goal from the Maryland 2-yard line, Pribula lined up at wide receiver with Allar in the shotgun.

They motioned, putting Pribula in the gun to receive the snap. He ran left and pitched to Allar, who looked to throw to the right side of the field. With receivers covered, Allar tucked to run and flicked a pass forward to Johnson at the last second to score.

The wackiest play so far this season revealed the existence of a package made for Pribula, who had played mainly in garbage time previously. Franklin teased such a formation multiple times this season, and we finally saw both quarterbacks on the field Saturday.

“It wasn’t overly productive, but I still think it causes some issues and it causes the next opponents that we’re going to play, it’s one more thing on film that they have to deal with now,” Franklin said.

The big one is up next for Penn State, which hosts No. 3 Michigan in the Lions’ last hope for a College Football Playoff berth (noon, Fox 29). It will be an interesting matchup to follow throughout the week as Michigan deals with the fallout surrounding its ongoing sign-stealing investigation.

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