McSorley Leads No. 12 Penn State To 66-3 Rout Of Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Trace McSorley threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score to cap an outstanding regular season and carry No. 12 Penn State past Maryland 66-3 on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) built a 31-0 halftime lead and cruised to their third straight victory. The streak began after successive losses at Ohio State and Michigan State by a combined four points.
McSorley went 22 for 33 for 237 yards and ran seven times for 36 yards. The junior has thrown for 3,228 yards and 26 touchdowns this season and run for 589 yards and 11 TDs.
McSorley left with 5:46 left in the third quarter, after Saquon Barkley made it 45-0 with two third-quarter touchdown runs.
Backup quarterback Tommy Stevens completed the rout, running for 113 yards and three scores.
Penn State has won 10 games in successive seasons for the first time since 2008-09.
The one bright spot for Maryland (4-8, 2-7) was the record-setting play of DJ Moore, who had eight catches for 100 yards. Moore set the school single-season mark of 80 receptions, breaking the record of 77 held by Geroy Simon in 1984, and became only the third Maryland receiver to have a 1,000-yard season.
On a day the school bid farewell to the 19 seniors on the squad, the Terrapins fell to 2-38-2 in this very lopsided series.
McSorley set the tone early, running for 22 yards on a third-and-8 on the opening series to set up a touchdown run by Stevens, who lined up at running back.
Later in the first quarter, McSorley deftly kept his balance while scrambling over a fallen Maryland defender on a 5-yard touchdown run.
It became 28-0 when McSorley tossed a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Mike Gesicki in the span of 3 1/2 minutes.
By the time they were done, the Nittany Lions had surpassed 50 points for the fourth time this season, the most since 1994.
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: The Nittany Lions deserve the chance to put their prolific offense on display on New Year's Day. They have scored 157 points in their last three games, including back-to-back 50-point games for the first time since 1997.
Maryland: The Terrapins saved their worst for last. Maryland lost seven of its last eight games and sealed an 0-4 November with a horrid performance on Senior Day.
HALF TIME: Penn State senior safety Troy Apke missed the first half, his punishment for targeting last week in a 56-44 win over Nebraska. He saw limited action and finished with two tackles.
MR. TOUCHDOWN
Barkley has scored 19 touchdowns this season, seven in the last three weeks, and has a school-record 51 TDs for his career.
UP NEXT
Penn State: Awaits a bowl bid.
Maryland: Faces Texas at FedEx Field, Sept. 1, 2018.
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