Penn State vs. Maryland key matchups
Penn State takes on Maryland this weekend in a Big Ten East battle. To get you ready for the game, here are some key situations that can factor into the outcome of the game. Below is a video transcript, which you can find on YouTube, or embedded in this article.
Penn State faces wildcard in Tagovailoa
We’ll start with the Penn State defense, which faces a quality quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa on Saturday. A hallmark of the Maryland offense under head coach Mike Locksley is the usage of screen plays. For Penn State’s aggressive, attacking defense, will this give them pause on trying to get to the quarterback with heavy pressure? Head coach James Franklin doesn’t think so.
Tagovailoa has thrown 57 screen passes in 2022, the most of any quarterback in the Big Ten. His 400 yards on screens is 132 yards more than the next closest quarterback. However, despite its attacking nature, the Penn State defense has only allowed roughly 100 yards this season on screens, making it one of the best in the conference. A wrinkle in this situation is the status of veteran linebacker Curtis Jacobs. If he can’t play on Saturday, that places more pressure on freshman Abdul Carter and veteran reserve players like Charlie Katshir.
Still, this matchup is good-on-good and will determine a large part of Maryland’s offensive success on Saturday.
In many ways, the game is all about Tagovailoa for the Penn State defense. His ability to extend plays and throw on the run is well-known. Again, he leads the Big Ten in touchdowns under pressure and is second only to Sean Clifford in yardage with a defender chasing him. It’s not enough to pressure the Maryland quarterback. The Penn State defensive line needs to get him on the ground.
Last week against Wisconsin, new starting center Coltin Deery struggled snapping in the weather, causing issues for Tagovailoa operating the offense. So is there something special to learning how to snap? Penn State center Juice Scruggs doesn’t think so.
It sounds like that won’t change in one week. Deery wasn’t much better after the snap, allowing consistent pressure up the middle. That, combined with poor blocking from the Maryland running backs, led to five sacks on Tagovailoa and a season-low output. With more weather expected this weekend, Deery’s snapping could again be a factor.
Drew Shelton under a microscope this weekend
Offensively, Penn State is likely to give freshman Drew Shelton his second career start with the status of left tackle Olu Fashanu in doubt. However, Scruggs feels confident in the freshman’s ability.
Head coach James Franklin says that it hasn’t been a mad dash to get Shelton ready because he’s been putting in the work all year long to prepare. Despite that, he’s gotten extra attention from Fashanu.
While Franklin downplays the difference, during open media sessions for the last two weeks, Shelton has been in nearly constant communication with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein and the veteran linemen. With a week of film on the freshman, Maryland may have a more specific plan of attack concentrated on confusing the young player. The good news is that he’s getting plenty of assistance to get ready.
