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Is Maryland for real? The Terrapins are 2-0 and have outscored Howard and then-No. 21 Syracuse by a combined 142-20. They’ll look to keep the ball rolling against Temple this weekend before they face Penn State in a Friday night contest on Sept. 27.
The Terps impressive start, coupled with some unmotivated performances by top teams, have altered the Big Ten power rankings. Bowl projections have also been altered by the dramatic opening weekends of the season, with the Nittany Lions eyeing up some favorable weather come January.
Buffalo Recap
Let’s hope for a speedy recovery for Bulls’ punter Evan Finegan, who took a brutal hit from Journey Brown and underwent surgery on Sunday. Finegan was released from Mount Nittany Medical Center on Tuesday.
I have been overwhelmed with the amount of love and support from family, friends, and college football fans all across the country! Your texts have been keeping me positive and encouraged.
— Evan Finegan (@efinegan40) September 8, 2019
Certainly the ugliest moment of the game, there was also plenty of good and bad offered in the Nittany Lions 45-13 victory, with one especially nice stat emerging from the game.
While Penn State’s rushing-by-committee stats have been impressive, the most talented of the group has had some early-season difficulties and will need to pick up the pace for the Nittany Lions to succeed later in the season.
There has been zero concern elsewhere among the perimeter players, as a dynamic duo of wide receivers have answered any preseason questions about how much of a step back Penn State’s offense would take.
Despite a slow start that saw the Nittany Lions trail at halftime, Penn State’s performance was strong enough to move up in the latest AP Poll.
“Rivalry” Week
Saturday marks the 100th meeting between Penn State and Pitt. Though recent matchups have produced plenty of memorable moments (both good and bad) and the continuation of the matchup could truly establish it as a rivalry, Saturday also marks the final meeting between the two teams for what could be a long time.
Rather than focus on a future that may not come, we’ll take a page from James Franklin’s book and focus on one week at a time.
The Panthers are coming off a 20-10 win over the Ohio Bobcats and stand at 1-1 on the season after a season-opening loss to Virginia.
No matter the direction the Panthers’ season is heading, they will have no problem getting amped up for the in-state matchup.
Pitt C Jimmy Morrissey, one of the nicest men ever to wear a Pitt uniform, gets it started. Asked Pitt/PSU, he said, "I can't wait. Some of my closest friends go to Penn State. I don't like them one bit. That's pretty obvious. I play for Pitt."
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) September 7, 2019
Fortunately for us, Morrissey opened up about Penn State before Panthers’ coach Pat Narduzzi could keep his players away from the microphone, which begs the question, who should really by silenced?