Oct. 23, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State heads on the road for the second straight week with a trip to Baltimore for a matchup against Maryland on Saturday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions (5-2, 2-1) will meet the Terrapins (2-4, 0-2) at 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) inside M&T Bank Stadium, marking Penn State's second game this season in an NFL venue and the program's first contest against the Terps in Maryland since 1993.
"Obviously, playing University of Maryland is going to be exciting (for us)," head coach James Franklin said. "We have so many fans and alumni in that region. Playing at the Ravens' stadium should be a great venue."
True freshman running back Saquon Barkley highlighted Penn State's trip to No. 1 Ohio State last week. Barkley rushed for 194 yards in his return to the lineup, marking his third career 100-yard performance in just five games this season. Barkley's efforts included a season-long 56-yard rush in the third quarter.
Junior quarterback Christian Hackenberg enters the Maryland game just 74 yards shy of becoming Penn State's career passing leader. Hackenberg has thrown for 7,138 yards and 40 touchdowns during his decorated career in the Blue and White.
Defensively, Carly Nassib reached seven straight games with at least one sack during Penn State's trip to Columbus. The standout senior is now the nation's leader in sacks (11.5), tackles for loss (15.5) and forced fumbles (5). Through seven games, linebacker Jason Cabinda is leading the team in tackling with 51 stops.
Led by interim head coach Mike Locksley, Maryland returns to action following a bye week. The Terps opened the season 2-1, but lost three-straight before the bye. Maryland opened Big Ten play with losses to Michigan (28-0) and at Ohio State (49-28). Additionally, the Terps went 2-2 in non-conference games with victories over Richmond (50-21) and USF (35-17) and setbacks to Bowling Green (48-27) and at West Virginia (45-6).
In a series that dates back to 1917, Penn State and Maryland will meet for the 39th time in Baltimore on Saturday. The Nittany Lions own a 35-2-1 mark in the all-time series. That includes a 2-0-1 record in games played in Baltimore. The two teams met annually from 1960-'75 and then again from 1984-'93. The series resumed last season in Beaver Stadium when the two regional foes were aligned in the Big Ten East Division.
After playing in back-to-back road games for the first time since 2012, Penn State returns home next week for a matchup against Illinois at noon on Halloween. The Lions will then head back on the road for a contest against Northwestern on Nov. 7 before the bye week.
Welcome to the gameday preview for week eight - Penn State at Maryland.