UNIVERSITY PARK – Before Penn State took on Maryland on Saturday afternoon, coach James Franklin said he and his team heard the big news from Columbus, Ohio, where No. 2 Ohio State lost to Michigan in both teams’ regular-season finale.

But the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions had their own work to do as the Terrapins visited Beaver Stadium on Senior Day.

Ohio State’s loss cleared the way for Penn State to play in the Big Ten title game on Dec. 7, assuming the Nittany Lions could handle Maryland.

With the Buckeyes’ fate sealed before kickoff in Happy Valley, Penn State did its part, defeating Maryland 44-7.

“We had to win and play well,” Franklin said. “A lot of eyes are looking at these games, looking at the stats – all those things are important. We are fighting to keep this family together for as long as possible. Wins do that, stats do that, it looks like all of those things are important.

“We wanted to play for four quarters and fight until the end and do everything we could do to put ourselves in the best position to continue the season as long as possible and also be seeded as high (in the College Football Playoff). to be possible.”

Penn State (11-1, 8-1) will face No. 1 Oregon (11-0, 8-0), with a first-round bye in college, on Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana Football playoff is on the line.

The Nittany Lions didn’t get off to a strong start as Nick Singleton fumbled on the first play and Maryland (4-8, 1-8) took over at Penn State’s 25-yard line.

MJ Morris then quickly dropped a pass to Kaden Prather in the end zone on Maryland’s opening play, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead 11 seconds into the game.

Penn State responded with a 49-yard field goal from Ryan Barker to make it 7-3, but both teams struggled to overcome the handful of possessions that followed.

However, Penn State got rolling late in the first quarter and engineered a 13-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that produced the first of 44 unanswered points.

“Obviously the game didn’t start the way we wanted it to – very, very sloppy on offense and defense,” Franklin said. “But from then on I was very happy.”

With 12:56 left in the second quarter, Singleton scored from two yards out to give Penn State a 10-7 lead.

After a fourth-down stop by the Nittany Lions defense, Drew Allar hit Khalil Dinkins on Penn State’s next drive for a 23-yard gain.

That brought an Allar keeper from the goal line that gave the Nittany Lions a 17-7 lead at 10:11.

Allar finished 17 of 26 through the air for 171 yards and two total touchdowns. Tyler Warren caught six passes for 68 yards and a score.

Singleton led the backfield with 13 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

Penn State struggled with ball security and fumbled four times, of which Maryland was only able to recover once.

About halfway through the second quarter, Allar fumbled but managed to turn the ball over to Warren as he was surrounded by Maryland defenders.

Penn State’s dynamic tight end turned the broken play into a 29-yard gain, setting up a short touchdown run by Beau Pribula that tied the game at 24 with 6:53 left in the first half.

Morris threw his first of three interceptions on Maryland’s ensuing drive, with Audavion Collins landing the ball near midfield.

Six plays later, Allar found Warren in the corner of the end zone for six more points, giving Penn State a 31-7 lead with 1:50 left in the half.

Desperate for points before halftime, Maryland launched a promising drive, but Morris was picked off at the 9-yard line by Tony Rojas.

The third quarter was scoreless as the Nittany Lions limited Maryland to 27 total yards of offense.

On the day, the Terrapins managed just 194, with Penn State collecting six sacks and three picks.

“We’re still getting better,” said defensive end Abdul Carter, who led Penn State with six tackles and two sacks. “Every week we are getting better and better and we will continue to do so all season long. We will finish strong.”

In comparison, the Nittany Lions recorded 412 yards of total offense.

Early in the fourth, Singleton punched in the ball from 18 yards, scoring his second touchdown of the day and giving Penn State a 38-7 lead with 14:20 to play.

Maryland’s offensive woes continued as Penn State’s offense, now led by Pribula, made a final score as time expired.

Pribula hit freshman wideout Tyseer Denmark for a 15-yard touchdown, ending the game and making the final score 44-7.