Maryland–Penn State football rivalry

Maryland–Penn State football rivalry

Maryland Terrapins football Penn State Nittany Lions football
First meeting	November 17, 1917
Latest meeting	October 24, 2015
Next meeting	October 8, 2016
Statistics
Meetings total	39
All-time series	Penn State leads, 36–2–1
Largest victory	Penn State, 70–7 (1993)
Longest win streak	Penn State, 24 (1962–88)
Current win streak	Penn State, 1 (2015–present)

The Maryland–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Maryland Terrapins and Penn State Nittany Lions.

Series history

The teams first played in 1917. Penn State has thoroughly dominated the series, leading 36–2–1, with their longest winning streak being 24 games from 1962–88.

Penn State and Maryland met in briefly interrupted stretches between 1917 and 1993, with a near-consecutive run played all but three years (1976, 1981, and 1983) between 1960 and 1993. However, the one-sided record belies what was often a competitive match-up until its final years. While Maryland only compiled one win and one tie, numerous games were narrowly lost by missed field goals and turnovers. In 1975, a field goal attempt by kicker Mike Sochko hit the upright with under a minute left, and Maryland lost 15–13.^[1] Ten years later, the Terps missed three field goals to eventually lose 20–18.^[2]

Aside from the painful memories for Maryland, both schools compete aggressively for recruits in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area and Delaware Valley.^[3] When they did play, the game held recruiting implications for the entire mid-Atlantic. A more recent example of the recruiting competition is Baltimore-area player Antonio Logan-El, who committed verbally to Maryland, but ultimately signed with Penn State on live TV in 2006.^[4][5] Penn State secured a large number of recruits from the Baltimore–Washington area with its 2006 class, including the 11th-overall 2009 NFL Draft pick, defensive end Aaron Maybin of Ellicott City, Maryland,^[6] who had considered attending Maryland.^[3]

Prior to Maryland's announcement to join the Big Ten, former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen and Penn State athletic spokesman Jeff Nelson had previously stated that the schools had undergone discussions in an attempt to schedule a rematch. Maryland and Penn State were unable to agree on the terms for a revival.^[7][8] In 2008, Maryland officials alleged that Penn State demanded a two-to-one ratio of home games, which Penn State officials denied.^[9] Then new Maryland head coach Randy Edsall looked forward to a resumption of the rivalry in 2011.^[10]

On November 19, 2012, Maryland announced that it would be joining the Big Ten Conference, effective July 1, 2014. Maryland was placed in the East Division along with Penn State, ensuring that the rivalry will be played on a yearly basis.^[11] The first rematch was at Beaver Stadium on November 1, 2014 while Penn State was in the second year of severe NCAA Sanctions. At the coin toss the captains of the Terrapins refused to shake hands with the Penn State captains. Maryland was also given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as a result of a pregame scuffle in which Maryland wide-receiver Stefon Diggs swung at a Penn State player.^[12] Maryland won 20–19 on a 43-yard field goal by Brad Craddock with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter.^[13][14] Maryland wide receiver Stefon Diggs, coach Randy Edsall, and athletic director Kevin Anderson made public apologies to the Penn State President, coaching staff and players after being rebuked by the Big Ten Conference.^[15]

Game results

Maryland victories

Penn State victories

Tie games

# Date Location Winner Score 1 November 17, 1917 State College, PA Penn State 57–0 2 November 13, 1937 State College, PA Penn State 21–14 3 October 1, 1938 State College, PA Penn State 33–0 4 November 4, 1939 State College, PA Penn State 12–0 5 October 23, 1943 College Park, MD Penn State 45–0 6 November 18, 1944 State College, PA Penn State 34–19 7 November 5, 1960 State College, PA Penn State 28–9 8 November 4, 1961 College Park, MD Maryland 21–17 9 November 3, 1962 State College, PA Penn State 23–7 10 November 2, 1963 College Park, MD Penn State 17–15 11 October 31, 1964 State College, PA Penn State 17–9 12 December 4, 1965 College Park, MD Penn State 19–7 13 September 17, 1966 State College, PA Penn State 15–7 14 November 4, 1967 College Park, MD Penn State 38–3 15 November 16, 1968 College Park, MD #3 Penn State 57–13 16 November 15, 1969 State College, PA #5 Penn State 48–0 17 November 7, 1970 College Park, MD Penn State 34–0 18 November 6, 1971 State College, PA #6 Penn State 63–27 19 November 4, 1972 State College, PA #10 Penn State 46–16 20 November 3, 1973 College Park, MD #6 Penn State 42–22 21 November 2, 1974 State College, PA #10 Penn State 24–17 # Date Location Winner Score 22 November 1, 1975 College Park, MD #9 Penn State 15–13 23 September 24, 1977 State College, PA #5 Penn State 27–9 24 November 4, 1978 State College, PA #2 Penn State 27–3 25 October 6, 1979 College Park, MD Penn State 27–7 26 October 11, 1980 College Park, MD #14 Penn State 24–10 27 September 11, 1982 State College, PA #7 Penn State 39–31 28 October 6, 1984 State College, PA #11 Penn State 25–24 29 September 7, 1985 College Park, MD #19 Penn State 20–18 30 November 8, 1986 State College, PA #2 Penn State 17–15 31 November 7, 1987 Baltimore, MD #16 Penn State 21–16 32 November 5, 1988 State College, PA Penn State 17–10 33 November 11, 1989 Baltimore, MD Tie 13–13 34 November 10, 1990 State College, PA #21 Penn State 24–10 35 November 9, 1991 Baltimore, MD #9 Penn State 47–7 36 September 26, 1992 State College, PA #9 Penn State 49–13 37 October 2, 1993 College Park, MD #9 Penn State 70–7 38 November 1, 2014 State College, PA Maryland 20–19 39 October 24, 2015 Baltimore, MD Penn State 31–30 40 October 8, 2016 State College, PA Series: Penn State leads 36–2–1

See also

List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. David Ungrady, Tales from the Maryland Terrapins, p. 198, Sports Publishing LLC, 2003, ISBN 1-58261-688-4.
2. Penn State Staves Off Rally By Maryland To Win, 20–18, The Toledo Blade, September 7, 1985.
3. Penn State's Lure Is Not A Good Sign for Maryland, The Washington Post, February 1, 2006.
4. "Antonio Logan-El Lowdown", Nittany Notes, Scout.com, April 5, 2007, accessed January 16, 2008.
5. "Lineman Logan-El chooses Penn State". USA Today. January 25, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
6. Ralph's recruiting class, The Washington Times, April 30, 2009.
7. Jeff Barker, Maryland approves move to Big Ten; Rutgers next Chicago Tribune, November 19, 2012.
8. "College Football: East; Penn State Wins, 21–16", Associated Press, November 8, 1987, retrieved January 17, 2008.
9. Jeff Barker, Maryland, Penn State disagree on the facts, The Baltimore Sun, October 2008.
10. Maryland's Edsall would like series vs. Penn State, "The York Dispatch", June 21, 2011
11. Rutgers to join Big Ten: Top 5 things you need to know, "The Star-Ledger", November 19, 2012
12. SI Wire. "Maryland penalized for not shaking hands with Penn State at coin toss". SI.com.
13. "Penn State Loses Nail Biter To Maryland 20–19". cbslocal.com.
14. "Maryland vs. Penn State – Game Recap – November 1, 2014 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
15. Baltimore Sun (November 3, 2014). "Maryland's Stefon Diggs suspended and Randy Edsall reprimanded for sportsmanship violations". baltimoresun.com.