Up 38-7 in the fourth quarter against Maryland, Penn State football put in its reserves.

Beau Pribula took Drew Allar’s place while Corey Smith, Quinton Martin Jr., and Tyseer Denmark also saw action on offense with the lead in the fourth quarter.

After Dejuan Lane, another freshman who entered late, picked off Maryland quarterback MJ Morris and returned it 54 yards to the Maryland 13-yard line, Penn State went back on offense.

With just over a minute left in the game, the Nittany Lions didn’t line up in the victory formation to take a knee and end the game. Instead, Smith rushed twice before Pribula missed Tyler Johnson in the end zone to bring up 4th-and-12 with the clock stopped at four seconds.

The Nittany Lions took another shot to the end zone on fourth down as Pribula found Denmark for a 15-yard touchdown pass as time expired, cementing the 44-7 victory over the Terrapins.

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley took offense to the late score, and let James Franklin hear it when the two met at midfield for the postgame handshake.

Maryland's Mike Locksley was not happy with Penn State's James Franklin after taking a 44-7 loss at Beaver Stadium. pic.twitter.com/NGl8TrO43k

— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) December 1, 2024

“Bullshit,” Locksley told reporters after the game. “That’s what it was. I respect the game. I’ve got a lot of respect for James, his program. I think it was bullshit.”

Franklin took a different approach to the late score. According to him, if the Nittany Lions have a large enough lead where the reserves get to play, those players should get to give maximum effort.

“My job is to put the threes and fours in the game, but when the threes and fours get to go in the game, they get to play football,” Franklin said postgame. “Your ones are in the game, you’re trying to score, so we’re trying to score.”

Along with getting the younger players touches, Franklin said the new model of college football values being able to operate at a high level for all four quarters. If Penn State wants to have as favorable a position in the postseason as it can, Franklin doesn’t think the team should pass up any scoring opportunities.

“We’re trying to play as long as we can, make the playoffs, and be seeded as high as we can,” Franklin said. “Point differential matters, and all of that matters.”

The touchdown, though, taught Franklin more about the talent he has coming up through the program. Denmark has seen action against Kent State and Purdue, registering one catch for 13 yards and a 16-yard punt return in his two games so far this season.

“He’s a talented guy, he’s a confident guy, and he’s a tough guy,” Franklin said. “He continues to get better, and we’re going to need him more and more into the postseason.”

It wasn’t the first time Franklin had faced questions over running up the score, as he said the same thing after a late score in the 2023 season opener against West Virginia. While Locksley wasn’t happy with the score, Franklin stood by it and again said everyone deserves the chance to compete.

“If you don’t get that, it’s really not my problem,” Franklin said. “We’re 1-0. I’m good with it. Anybody that’s not, that’s their problem.”