No. 12 Penn State football (3-0) will open its slate of conference games against Maryland (2-1) on Friday night.

The Nittany Lions have dominated their all-time series against Terrapins and currently hold a 39-2-1 record over Maryland. James Franklin did lose to the Terps in his debut season as Penn State’s head coach, but his team has rattled off four consecutive victories in the series.

Maryland began its season with two emphatic victories over FCS Howard and then-No. 21 Syracuse, but then entered its bye week coming off a disappointing 20-17 loss on the road against Temple.

The Team

Head coach Mike Locksley is three games into his first full season as Maryland’s head coach. Locksley served as Alabama’s offensive coordinator last season, but he returned to College Park after spending nine total seasons in different roles from 1998-2002 and 2012-15.

In 2015, Locksley served as the Terps’ interim head coach for six games before joining Alabama as an offensive assistant. He previously worked with Penn State head coach James Franklin, who was Maryland’s wide receivers coach from 2000-04 while Locksley served as the team’s running backs coach from 1998-2002.

Locksley is 3-6 in parts of two seasons as Maryland’s head coach. He, however, won two conference titles and a national championship with Alabama during his tenure there.

Offense

Transfer Josh Jackson has taken the reins of Maryland’s offense this season. The former Virginia Tech quarterback has 19 games of collegiate experience under his belt, and he’s shown signs of greatness throughout his first three games as a Terrapin with 724 passing yards and eight touchdowns.

Jackson was dominant against Howard and Syracuse throughout the first two weeks of the season, but he struggled to get much of anything going against Temple. When Jackson is on his game, he can carve apart even the best of defenses — particularly with his excellent use of the run-pass option. He always seemed to make the right reads against Syracuse, and the Orange had no answer for him and the Terps’ two-headed monster at running back.

Anthony McFarland and Javon Leake have carried the load in the Terps’ run game, and they’ll need to continue to do so after Jake Funk tore his ACL against Temple. Both players are powerful runners who can squat 500 pounds(!), but McFarland also has excellent speed and shiftiness in the open field. McFarland has led the way with 225 yards and six total touchdowns on 49 touches, and Leake has chipped in with 187 yards and two scores on just 18 carries.

Jackson has done a nice job of spreading the ball around to various options in the passing game, so none of the Terps’ receivers have really stood out through three games. Dontay Demus leads Maryland with 167 yards, two touchdowns, and nine receptions so far this season, and tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo also has nine receptions for 91 yards and a score. Five players — including Deon Jones (seven catches, 138 yards) — have hauled in at least three passes for the Terps through three games played.

Like most of Maryland’s team, the Terps’ offensive line hasn’t been consistent this season. It completely controlled the line of scrimmage and gave Jackson plenty of time to work, but the unit was also completely overrun against Temple and failed to produce in big moments — including a 4th and goal situation from the 1-yard line in the first quarter.

Defense & Special Teams

Maryland has generated a turnover in 15 consecutive games played, which is a remarkably impressive stat. This year’s Terrapin defense has gotten the help of a few key graduate transfers.

Outside linebacker Keandre Jones spent the first three seasons of his college career at Ohio State, but he made the move to Maryland this offseason and has blossomed into a star through three games. Jones is currently third on the team with 14 tackles, but he leads Maryland with 4.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. He’s done an excellent job of disrupting plays at the line of scrimmage so far this season, and Penn State’s offensive line may need to key on him throughout Friday’s game.

Former Clemson player Shaq Smith has made six tackles in his first three games as a Terrapin, and he also recorded a sack. He’s listed as both a starting defensive end and back-up linebacker on Maryland’s depth chart this week, but he mostly served as a reserve on Clemson’s national title-winning squads in 2016 and 2018. Starting safety Antoine Brooks currently leads the team in tackles with 25 through three games, and outside linebacker Ayinde Eley is second with 18 stops.

Inconsistency has been a big storyline throughout Maryland’s season, and that’s especially true for the defense. The unit dominated throughout its game against Syracuse and at times against Temple, but it’s also prone to busted coverages and missed assignments in the passing game. However, it’s definitely capable of squashing an opponent’s momentum and shutting down a comeback bid, which it did on multiple occasions in the second half against Syracuse.

As far as special teams is concerned, Maryland returns starting kicker Joseph Petrino — a sophomore who went 12-for-14 on field goal attempts last year. He, however, missed his only field goal try of the year against Temple, and he’s also 18-for-18 on extra-point attempts so far this year. Petrino also handles kickoff duties while freshmen Colton Spangler and Anthony Pecorella split punting duties.