Penn State in Driver's Seat to Make Big Ten Title Game

No. 4 Penn State took the field Saturday for its regular-season finale against Maryland with a new mission. If the Nittany Lions win, they will face Oregon in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Michigan changed the entire tenor of the Big Ten title race Saturday, beating Ohio State 13-10 in Columbus. The Wolverines kicked a field goal with 45 seconds left and then stopped Ohio State on fourth down to win their fourth consecutive game in the series. Michigan did not eliminate Ohio State from Big Ten championship game contention, though the Buckeyes would need victories from Maryland over Penn State and Purdue over Indiana to get back into the title game.

Meanwhile, Penn State (10-1) can reach its second Big Ten title game, and first since 2016, with a win over the Terps. The Nittany Lions began the game as 26.5-point favorites over Maryland, according to DraftKings. The Terps (4-7) brought a four-game losing streatk to Beaver Stadium for their final game of the season.

This week, Penn State coach James Franklin downplayed the possibility of playing for the Big Ten title, saying the opportunity would present itself only if the Nittany Lions beat Maryland.

"To be honest with you I haven't spent a whole lot time thinking about that," Franklin said before the game. "I'm literally completely focused on the Terps and the University of Maryland, and after that game there is a lot of other things I think that have to happen. But that is a possibility. For us, we want an opportunity to compete as many times as we possibly can this year. If that includes a conference championship game, we would be very, very excited about that opportunity.

"But again, all we have to do is focus on playing Maryland this week and if we're not focused on that, is then a lot of these other things that everybody else wants to talk about, then those things become questionable. Those things become challenging. Those things become different."

The Nittany Lions did not get off to a good start vs. Maryland. Running back Nicholas Singleton fumbled the opening snap, and Maryland scored on its first play after the turnover. MJ Morris hit receiver Kaden Prather for a 25-yard touchdown, giving the Terps a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game.