STATE UNIVERSITY | Penn State originally planned to have an off Sunday with Jaylen Reed planning to travel to New York for safety reasons. “This is over now,” Reed said happily Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State 44-7 victory over Maryland has completely changed the Nittany Lions’ postseason, which now begins in the Big Ten Championship Game against Oregon. The No. 4 Nittany Lions return to Indianapolis for the first time since 2016, when they defeated Wisconsin in their first title game. To get there this time, Penn State scored 44 unanswered points against the Terps, including a touchdown pass as time expired Maryland coach Mike Locksley didn’t like it. Penn State coach James Franklin was pleased, however.

Anyway, to the testimony.

OFFENSE: B+

The Nittany Lions reverted to their rake-tripping starts, generating just 1 yard of offense on their first four drives, which included a fumble on the opening play. Quarterback Drew Allar was out of action, the line looked shaky and the receivers were wandering. Then Allar hit tight end Tyler Warren for 20 yards on a first down, converted two 4th-and-1 sneaks and watched as Warren drew a pass interference penalty. That opened the door to touchdowns on four consecutive series scored by four different players.

Allar found his rhythm, completing nine of 10 passes in one pass, and Warren went into beast mode, leaping over a defender for the first time since high school. Until that moment Saturday, he hadn’t even thought about attempting the move. Warren, who set three more records, was one of the most fun players to watch in college football this season. After his fumble, Nicholas Singleton ran furiously, scoring a total of 170 all-purpose points and scoring two touchdowns. And receiver Omari Evans made a welcome play, catching four passes for 49 yards.

DEFENSE: A

Maryland receiver Kaden Prather took advantage of man coverage on his team’s first snap and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. The Terps racked up 169 yards of offense over the rest of the game, and Penn State flattened its next 12 drives: seven punts, three interceptions and two fourth-down stops. Penn State’s Abdul Carter and Tyrece Mills combined for the game’s most crucial defensive play, stopping Maryland on a 4th-and-short from the 30-yard line. Carter made two more tackles for loss, bringing his total to 19.5 tackles this season, the same number Carl Nassib posted in 2015 when he was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Penn State’s defensive line hounded Maryland’s front for five of the team’s six sacks, Maryland threw for just 35 yards in the second half and the Nittany Lions extended one of the country’s great defensive streaks. No team scored a third-quarter touchdown against Penn State this year. And Maryland’s Tai Felton, the Big Ten’s leading receiver, finished the game with four quiet catches for 27 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-

Singleton exploded on his next touch after the fumble for a 66-yard kickoff return, his longest of the season. That shot set up kicker Ryan Barker for the 49-yard field goal, his longest of the season. Barker has been an underrated success story, going 11-for-13 since his start. However, Penn State’s special teams front allowed its second blocked kick (on a 53-yard attempt) in two weeks. Franklin said personnel changes contributed to the collapse. Coordinator Justin Lustig will be watching a lot of film this week.

COACHING: A

Since the loss to Ohio State, Franklin and his staff have redefined the team’s perspective, moving everyone forward and paving the way to four important victories. Each was unique: Penn State beat Washington and Purdue with great starts, delivered an extremely nervy, game-winning drive against Minnesota and closed the deal against Maryland. The Nittany Lions have won 33 straight games against teams ranked 20th or lower. Unimpressed? Ohio State would travel to Indianapolis instead of Penn State if it had beaten an unranked team on Saturday.

OVERALL: A-

Penn State took a quarter to complete its haymaking, but then delivered a quick and decisive knockout blow. Every minute may not be perfect, but every moment means something. In this case, the Nittany Lions recognized their early deficiencies and scored 44 unanswered points. That’s important, and it earned Penn State a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium to face No. 1 Oregon for the Big Ten title.

More Penn State football

Maryland coach Mike Locksley calls Penn State’s last-second touchdown “bull—-.”

What they said after the Nittany Lions’ win over Maryland

What we learned from Penn State’s win over the Terps