Oct. 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – For the second time this season, Penn State will visit an NFL venue, as the Nittany Lions meet Maryland Saturday in the Baltimore Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. game on ESPN. It is the 39th meeting between the teams, but just the second as Big Ten members.
It could be a historic day for Nittany Lion quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who could become the school’s career leader in passing yardage, completions and attempts. He will need to surpass 74 yards passing, 11 completions and 29 attempts to top all three lists.
Hackenberg is not the only one drawing attention behind the line of scrimmage, as true freshman running back Saquon Barkley is already being compared to Lion legends after impressing a primetime audience with 194 yards on 26 carries against No. 1 Ohio State. The young runner has eclipsed 100 yards in the three games in which he has been featured and not slowed by injury, and he has threatened to surpass 200 yards in his two contests with 20 or more carries. Aside from his one carry for one yard at Temple, he has at least one run of at least 33 yards in the four games he has played since.
Carl Nassib also cemented his place on the national scene, extending his sack streak to seven games with 1.5 against Ohio State and 3.5 tackles for loss. The former walk-on now leads the nation in both categories, as well as forced fumbles.
Despite the standout performances, it was not enough to overcome J.T. Barrett and Ohio State on the road. The Lions held the lead after the first quarter, but missed opportunities and Barrett’s four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) led the Buckeyes to victory.
Maryland also enters the game following a loss to Ohio State, but was off last week. The game against Penn State will be Maryland’s first under new leadership. Mike Locksley was named the interim head coach of the team following the Ohio State game.
Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium to host Illinois on Halloween at noon.
MARYLAND INTERIM HEAD COACH MIKE LOCKSLEY
• Mike Locksley was named the interim head coach on Oct. 11, 2015. This will be his first game serving in the role.
• Locksley is in his 10th season at Maryland. He was an assistant coach from 1997-2002, primarily working with the running backs, and has served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2012.
• He has three seasons of experience as a head coach, serving in the role at New Mexico (2009-11).
• Locksley was a defensive back at Towson from 1989-91.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland is in its second season in the Big Ten. The Terrapins are 2-4 this season with wins over Richmond and USF.
• In addition to losses against Bowling Green and West Virginia, Maryland is off to an 0-2 start in the Big Ten, falling to a pair of ranked teams in Michigan and Ohio State.
• Maryland fell to Ohio State in its last outing, Oct. 3, and was off last week.
• The Terrapins rank 13th in the conference in total defense but excel in sacks and tackles for loss. The Terps are averaging 3.33 sacks per game to rank ninth in the nation and fourth in the conference, while earning 7.0 stops behind the line per game to rank 36th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten.
• Yannick Ngakoue leads the team in sacks with 1.17 per game to rank sixth nationally.
• Turnovers have been an issue on both sides of the ball. The Terps have thrown a nation-high 17 interceptions and have just eight takeaways.
• Defensive back Sean Davis is second in the nation to Penn State’s Carl Nassib with 0.67 forced fumbles per game.
• Fellow DB William Likely is one of nation’s most dangerous returnmen. He is one of two with a nation-leading two punt return touchdowns and he ranks second in punt return yardage averaging 22.0 yards per return.
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