5 things to know about the Maryland Terrapins

Maryland may be on the rise over the past few seasons, but they have rarely stood a chance in their matchups against Penn State historically. They are a putrid 3-1-43 all-time against the Nittany Lions, truly terrible for a sample size that large. To their credit, two of their wins have come since joining the Big Ten.

Still, they are just 2-8 against Penn State as a conference foe. Their last three matchups have been multi-score beatdowns, even with the improvements Maryland has made. They will be traveling to Happy Valley this year in the regular season finale for what could be a very meaningful game for both teams.

Penn State could easily be in line for a playoff berth or even a Big Ten Title berth with a win, and Maryland could be looking to play spoiler while solidifying their bowl eligibility. The new 12-team playoff format has given teams like Penn State the chance at a National Championship without needing to be the best or even second-best team in the conference, and a loss to Maryland would likely derail that chance.

Overall, Penn State should be able to handle business at home. Maryland is just good enough to make it hard on them, however. James Franklin and his players should not overlook the Terrapins if they want to finish the season strong.