Singleton, Clifford lead Lions in rout
STATE COLLEGE — Nick Singleton ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns Saturday and the Penn State defense smothered Maryland in a 30-0 victory on a rainy afternoon at Beaver Stadium.
The 14th-ranked Nittany Lions (5-2 Big Ten, 8-2) beat the Terrapins (3-4, 6-4) for the 42nd time in 46 meetings and made life miserable for quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who was sacked seven times and hurried numerous other times.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford completed 12-of-23 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown to tight end Brenton Strange before giving way to freshman Drew Allar late in the third quarter.
Clifford’s 16-yard completion to Strange, which set up the TD, gave him the school record for career passing yards. He finished the game with 10,023 yards, the seventh Big Ten passer to reach 10,000.
The Lions held Maryland far below its season average of 31.4 points per game.
Chop Robinson, who transferred to Penn State earlier this year after playing last year for the Terps, had two sacks.
Freshman linebacker Abdul Carter had seven tackles, two quarterback pressures, one pass break-up and one forced fumble.
Kaytron Allen, another
member of Penn State’s talented freshman class, carried 16 times for 73 yards as the Lions rushed for well over 200 yards.
It was an impressive victory for the Lions, who played without left tackle Olu Fashanu, linebacker Curtis Jacobs and cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Penn State took command quickly, scoring on its first series on a 3-yard pass from Clifford to Strange.
Later in the first quarter, Singleton broke through the middle of the line on fourthand-1 and outraced the last defender to the right corner of the end zone. His 45-yard TD set the school record for rushing touchdowns by a freshman and put the Lions up 14-0.
On another fourth-and-1 in the second quarter, Singleton burst up the middle and carried a defender into the end zone for a 27-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
Jake Pinegar kicked two long field goals, one from 50 yards and one from 46 to end the half, giving Penn State a 27-0 advantage.
Penn State finished the first half with a lopsided 296-27 advantage in total yards and cruised in the second half.
The takeaway
Maryland: It looks as if it could be another long November for the Terps. They’re just 2-9 in the month all-time under coach MIke Locksley and were beaten all over the field on Saturday. Their inability to run the ball and protect Tagovailoa doomed them from the start.
Penn State: Although the Nittany Lions don’t have a shot at a Big Ten championship, the future looks bright. The team’s most impactful players down the stretch are freshmen. Linebacker Abdul Carter had a team-best seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Singleton and fellow back Kaytron Allen appear to be Penn State’s best running back tandem since Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders.
Up next
Maryland: Hosts No. 2 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) on Saturday.
Penn State: Visits Rutgers (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten) on Saturday.
Associated Press contributed to this story.