There’s a lot of overlap between Penn State and Maryland football.

Aside from sharing a border, 14 Nittany Lions hail from the Free State including Olu Fashanu, Curtis Jacobs, Zakee Wheatley, Landon Tengwall, Golden Israel-Achumba, and Gabe Nwosu.

Chop Robinson is the leader on the Nittany Lions’ defensive front and is a projected first-round 2024 NFL Draft pick. He also originates from Maryland and played for the Terrapins as a freshman before transferring to Happy Valley.

Four current Terrapins were also born in the Keystone State, however, the history between these two Big Ten programs on the field runs even deeper and dates back to 1937.

The Nittany Lions will face off against the Terrapins for the 47th time in series history Saturday. Penn State dominates the series with an overall record of 42-3-1.

In three straight seasons from 1937 to 1939, Penn State was victorious. The Nittany Lions welcomed the Terrapins into New Beaver Field, where Maryland had no success outplaying the blue and white.

The two played again in back-to-back seasons, in 1943 and 1944, resulting in more victories for Penn State.

The teams didn’t play again for 16 seasons before Penn State continued its success against Maryland with a commanding 28-9 victory in 1960. Starting then, the two teams played for 16 straight seasons. The only Terrapin victory along this span came in 1961, when Maryland earned its only home victory against Penn State. Excluding one tie that took place in 1989, Penn State has won all other 18 matchups in Maryland.

All the way up until 1993, when Penn State joined the Big Ten, Maryland still had just one win in this series. In that season, the Nittany Lions tied their largest win against the Terrapins by a final score of 70-7.

While Penn State had joined the Big Ten, Maryland remained in the ACC. The pair didn’t play each other again until 2014 when they became a part of each team’s schedule every season since.

In their first game as conference foes, Maryland brought a new confidence to the plate. It traveled to Beaver Stadium and connected on a last-minute field goal to pick up its first win against Penn State in over half a century.

Penn State regained its dominance in the series and won five straight matchups spanning from 2015 to 2019, including a 66-3 slaughter in 2017 and a 59-0 beatdown in 2019.

After Penn State dropped its first two games to start the unusual COVID-19 season in 2020, the Nittany Lions welcomed the Terrapins into an empty Beaver Stadium.

Maryland had its way with Penn State, as the Nittany Lions fell to 0-3 for just the fourth time in school history. The Terrapins won this matchup 35-19 to record its most recent victory in this series.

The series has been reclaimed by the Nittany Lions after two more massive victories in the past two seasons. In 2021, the two teams found themselves all tied up at 14 in the fourth quarter. The tie barely lasted a minute before touchdowns from the Penn State offense and defense, along with a field goal, made the score 31-14 and out of reach for a Maryland comeback.

Last season proved to be pure dominance as Penn State shut out Maryland 30-0. Nick Singleton rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and Jake Pinegar made three field goals, while the defense limited Maryland to just 134 yards.

After starting this season 5-0, Maryland has since dropped three straight outings. No. 11 Penn State is 7-1 on the season, falling only to No. 1 Ohio State.

The Terrapins are led by senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who has thrown for 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He will challenge the Penn State’s defense, which is ranked No. 2 in the nation for total defense.

Coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 4, on FOX.