Maryland–Penn State football rivalry

The Maryland–Penn State football rivalry was an American college football rivalry game played by the Maryland Terrapins football team of the University of Maryland and the Penn State Nittany Lions football team of Pennsylvania State University.

Series history
The two teams first played in 1917. Penn State has thoroughly dominated this series throughout its entire existence, with Maryland winning only a single game and holding Penn State to a single tie. Penn State's record in the series is 35–1–1, with the longest winning streak being 24 games between 1962–88. The last game was played in 1993, when the series had run uninterrupted since 1984. The rivalry is expected to be revived in 2014 when Maryland joins the Big 10 in Penn State's Leaders Division.

Penn State and Maryland met in briefly interrupted stretches between 1917 and 1993, with a near-consecutive run played all but three years between 1960 and 1993. The teams have not met since, most likely due to the disproportionate nature of the series. However, the one-sided record belies what was often a competitive match-up until its final years. While Maryland only compiled one win and one tie, numerous games were narrowly lost by missed field goals and turnovers. In 1985, for example, Maryland missed three field goals to eventually lose 20–18. In 1975, a field goal attempt by placekicker Mike Sochko hit the upright with less than a minute remaining, and Maryland lost, 15–13.

Aside from the painful memories for Maryland, both schools compete aggressively for recruits in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area and southeastern Pennsylvania. When they did play, the game held recruiting implications for the entire mid-Atlantic. A more recent example of the recruiting competition is Baltimore-area player Antonio Logan-El, who made a verbal commitment to Maryland, but ultimately signed with Penn State on live television in 2006. Penn State secured a large number of recruits from the Baltimore-Washington area with its 2006 class, including the 11th-overall 2009 NFL Draft pick, defensive end Aaron Maybin of Ellicott City, Maryland, who had considered attending Maryland.

While there are currently no known plans for future meetings, Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen and Penn State athletic spokesman Jeff Nelson have both stated that the schools have undergone discussions in an attempt to schedule a rematch. For the time being, however, Maryland and Penn State have been unable to agree on the terms for a revival. In 2008, Maryland officials alleged that Penn State demanded a two-to-one ratio of home games, which Penn State officials denied.

On November 19, 2012, Maryland announced it would be joining the Big Ten Conference, effective July 1, 2014. The Terrapins will be placed in the Leaders Division with the Nittany Lions, ensuring the rivalry will resume on a yearly basis.

Statistics
For Maryland, the lop-sided series has the lowest winning percentage (0.041) of any with more than four games played. This is considerably worse than the school's next least successful series: that against Florida State, with a winning percentage of 0.105 and record of 2–17. Not surprisingly, it is one of Penn State's most successful series (0.959).

Game results
''Maryland victories are shaded in red. Penn State victories are shaded in blue. Ties are shaded in gray .''