James Franklin shares where Taulia Tagovailoa has improved

No. 14 Penn State saw its chances at a Big Ten title essentially fade with losses to Michigan and Ohio State, but the Nittany Lions are still entertaining New Year’s Six bowl hopes. Closing the season strong will be important to that end, which means slowing down a much-improved Taulia Tagovaoiloa and Maryland this weekend.

The junior quarterback has thrown for more than 2,000 yards and keyed one of the Big Ten’s more efficient passing offenses.

“Obviously he’s always been an athletic guy and a guy that can create and extend plays, can really make all the throws,” PSU coach James Franklin said. “His accuracy has gotten better. His touchdown-to-interception ratio has gotten better.”

Tagovailoa, though, has dealt with injuries of late and missed the team’s game against Northwestern on Oct. 22.

He played last weekend against Wisconsin following a bye week but had his worst outing of the season, finishing just 10-of-23 passing for 77 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while taking five sacks. However, playing conditions were way less than ideal on a rainy, windy day.

Penn State is expecting the Tagovailoa that has clearly improved a bunch over the last couple years.

Improved Taulia Tagovailoa has Maryland poised for best win total under coach Mike Locksley

Maryland won seven games with an improved Tauilia Tagovailoa running the show a year ago and is looking to eclipse that mark this year.

The Terps currently sit at 6-3 and are jockeying with schools like Penn State for bowl placement down the stretch. A win Saturday would be a significant boost.

Whether Tagovailoa is back at 100% after his injury and last weekend’s tough outing remains to be seen, but the Nittany Lions won’t be taking the Terps lightly.

“I also think from a system standpoint they’ve done a really good job of putting him in a position to be successful and also recruiting well,” Franklin said. “He’s got a bunch of weapons around him. Like a lot of quarterbacks he just continues to get better with experience and with the talent they’ve surrounded him (with).”

Penn State and Maryland will meet Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET with a broadcast on FOX.