Penn State Football: Way Too Early Big Ten Football Power Rankings

Way Too early B1G Football power rankings: Where does Penn State Football stand?

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: James Franklin, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, celebrates with the Big Ten Championship trophy after Penn State beat the Wisconsin Badgers 38-31 at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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Head coach Michael Locksley of the Maryland Terrapins (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

11. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. . Maryland Terrapins. . player. 824

2021 Record: 7-6 (3-6)

Maryland was fun to watch last season. Unfortunately for Maryland fans that was due in part to a terrible defense. As was the case for the last couple of seasons, Maryland took advantage of a weak early schedule. Once conference play started, Maryland forgot how to play football. Maryland only defeated Illinois, Rutgers, and Indiana. As you may notice, two of those teams have already been mentioned in this power ranking.

The Terps’ defense was atrocious last season.

The defense gave up over 30 points per game in 2021. The top four teams in the Big Ten all scored over 40 points against the Terrapins. Seriously, Iowa scored 51 on this defense.

Maryland’s offense goes as Taulia Tagovailoa goes. When Tagovailoa is good, he is as good as any quarterback in the conference. The same goes for when he is playing terribly. Tagovailoa led the conference with eleven interceptions. Maryland wins when their quarterback plays well.

Mike Locksley has done well recruiting during his tenure. The problem is the recruiting hasn’t resulted in a competitive uptick. They still trail most teams in overall talent and they don’t have a scheme that makes up for that.

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