UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State ranks 52nd in the country in rushing offense, which is ... well, not too bad.
No, it's not great by any stretch. But at 171 yards per game on the ground, it's light years better than the disaster of 2021, when the Nittany Lions ranked 118th in the country and averaged just 108 yards.
We spent the entire offseason blasting the offensive line. Everybody did. And we all knew it would be a giant question mark this year, as it is most seasons. But now, it's time to offer up some praise and give credit where credit is due. The O-line deserves that much after putting together a solid season so far to help pave the way to a 7-2 record.
Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein also deserves credit for the line's improved play. He was probably coaching for his job this season -- there's no way anyone would ever admit that, but it's gotta be true after the line's putrid 2021 performance -- and he has delivered in his third season with the program.
It also obviously helps having two good young running backs in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who have brought a higher level of talent to the backfield.
Given all this, I asked Trautwein on Thursday if he and the linemen feel a level of vindication about how things have played out with the offensive line so far. I tried to phrase the question in a bit of a comical way, so as to try and get Trautwein to be more at ease answering.
My question: "I know you guys always talk about you don't pay attention to the noise or criticism, but surely you know it's been there for a lot of years. And you're running better, pass blocking well. Is there a level of, hey, we, we want you guys to kind of shut up, be quiet a little bit. We're taking care of this?"
Trautwein offered up a good little laugh at my question. He absolutely knows there has been heavy criticism in the past. And he absolutely knows there will be criticism again in the future if the line starts to struggle again.
"I mean, honestly, I just work every day just to try to get better," he said. "And that's the way we work. That's the mindset we have in this program.
"We understand no matter what -- because everybody's saying great things right now -- but (against) Maryland, if we don't play the way we think we're gonna play or the way you think we're gonna play, that's going to totally go the other way."
Yep. That's how things work in sports: You're only as good as your latest performance, and the Lions will need another good performance up front to help beat a decent Terps team Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State will be short-handed on the line once again, although we don't know yet just how short-handed.
Starting left guard Landon Tengwall has missed the last month and is done for the season after undergoing surgery. Hunter Nourzad has taken over that job.
Starting left tackle Olu Fashanu, who has gained an enormous amount of attention this season, missed last week's game at Indiana and is questionable for this week. Fashanu has been the line's best player, and if he cannot go, then true freshman Drew Shelton likely will get his second straight start.
Think about that: A true freshman starting at left tackle in the Big Ten! That's rare, because of the demands of the position, and Shelton has a tremendous responsibility at that spot protecting the quarterback's blind side.
Trautwein said he misremembered thinking Shelton was with the team in the spring, but that wasn't the case. So, this young man who only got to campus over the summer has already made a big impression moving into the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Fashanu.
"Just how fast he's developed, hat's off to him," Trautwein said.
"It's just a credit to him attacking everything," the coach added. "When he came in in the summer, making sure he knew the playbook, doing everything we asked him. And then fall camp, just grinding and making sure every day he was working on his technique and fundamentals. He's always doing extra after practice. ... Honestly, that's why I had all the confidence in the world that he was gonna go out (to Indiana) and play well."
Ideally, if Fashanu and Tengwall were both still starting, you'd think Penn State's offensive line would be a major force right now. But without those two -- presuming Fashanu can't go -- it remains to be seen how line will fare over the final three games.
Juice Scruggs has done a very good job at center and Sal Wormley has been solid at right guard. Right tackle has been an issue, as Caedan Wallace has struggled, and we'll see if it's him or Bryce Effner at that spot going forward.
At the very least, the O-line has been much more of a strength than a weakness this season, and we'll see if that can continue with the injuries.
"As long as we know we give everything we've got every day ... usually when that happens, you get the results," Trautwein said. "We're not going to be content. We know that we still got a long way to go, and that's the great mindset that we have here in this program."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Who: No. 14 Penn State (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) vs. Maryland (6-3, 3-3)
• When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Beaver Stadium
• Weather: Showers 52°, 32% chance rain, 10-mph wind
• TV: Fox (national)
• Radio: WPIT 96.5 FM
• Satellite: Sirius XM 156, online 957
• Media notes: Penn State | Maryland
PARKING UPDATE
Penn State issued the following guidance on parking for Saturday's game, with rain and soggy conditions in the area: "At this time, grass lots will remain open for Saturday's game with Penn State providing parking at Innovation Park for those with concerns about parking in a grass lot. In addition, the Overnight RV (ORV) lot will be closed from noon Friday until 8 a.m. Saturday. Penn State Athletics will continue to monitor lot conditions and provide updates as needed. Fans who have concerns about parking in their assigned grass lot can park at Innovation Park using their Penn State Football Game Day Parking pass. Those fans will be shuttled to Beaver Stadium from Innovation Park and dropped off at the North Transit Center near the stadium. Shuttles will begin running at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and will run until two hours after the game. Tailgating is permitted in the Innovation Park parking lots. On game day, in the event a fan's vehicle is stuck in a grass parking lot, Penn State Athletics will have towing available."
TWO REASONS
Two reasons Penn State will win:
1. The Lions haven't been messing around of late against teams they should beat, taking it to Minnesota and Indiana in blowouts. That's the sign of a focused team, and a team that's probably better than most are giving it credit for. Penn State is the far better team here, particularly defensively.
2. Penn State is pretty much always able to line up and just be physically better than the Terps. That's why the Lions are 41-3-1 all-time against Maryland. The Lions should be able to exert their will over the Terps on both sides of the ball.
Two reasons Maryland could win:
1. QB Taulia Tagovailoa always gives the Terps a chance. He's a playmaker and can do a lot of things, so if he's throwing it well, then Maryland will have a shot. He completed 41 of 57 passes for 371 yards last year against Penn State, with one TD and one interception, in a 31-14 loss.
2. The Terps won the last time they visited Beaver Stadium -- 35-19 in 2020 -- and they have some players left over who have had success in Happy Valley.
FIVE KEYS
My five keys for Penn State:
1. The Lions need to get pressure on Tagovailoa and force him into tough throws. He has been hurt by turnovers in his career, and Penn State has good defensive backs who can make him pay for bad throws.
2. Check out those numbers above for Taigovailoa last year against Penn State -- 41 completions for 371 yards. And yet the Terps scored only 14 points. That is exactly how Penn State succeeds against a lot of opponents that are overmatched physically, by giving up a lot of yards at times but keeping them out of the end zone. Even if the Terps can move the ball a good bit, it doesn't mean they'll be able to finish off drives by getting into the end zone.
3. Wisconsin rushed for 278 yards in last week's 23-10 win over Maryland. Michigan's Blake Corum had 243 yards rushing against the Terps. Even Indiana scored 33 against them, and the Hoosiers' offense looked inept against Penn State. Bottom line, this isn't a good Maryland defense, and Penn State should be able to put up some big numbers offensively. If ...
4. Obviously, the offensive line has to play well. And as pointed out above, the Lions already are without Tengwall and could be without Fashanu again. Shelton did fine against Indiana, but he is a true freshman and will have ups and downs. If the line plays well, Allen and Singleton should have a good day running the ball.
5. The Lions had five turnovers against Northwestern on a sloppy day last month and struggled to a 17-7 win. This likely will be another sloppy day, so protecting the ball will be big.
PREDICTION
Penn State 31, Maryland 16
The Terps' defense isn't very good, and Penn State's defense is very good. There's your game.
HOW TO BET THE GAME
Penn State is favored by 10.5. Over/under is 57.
Buy the Lions down to -9.5 for -129. A $100 bet would pay $78, and you don't have to worry about winning by a comfortable 10 points.
By the way, I've picked six consecutive winners on my Penn State predictions and am 7-2 on the season. Here's the rundown:
• W Indiana: PSU -13.5
• W Ohio State: PSU +15
• W Minnesota: PSU -5
• W Michigan: Michigan -6
• W Northwestern: NW +28
• W Central Mich: CMU +28
• L Auburn: Auburn +3
• L Ohio: Ohio +27
• W Purdue: over 53.5
