Maryland Gets Tie--It Feels Like Win

Maryland acted like winners, while No. 13-ranked Penn State felt like losers.

The game ended in a 13-13 tie Saturday, ending Maryland’s 24-game losing streak to Penn State.

“I feel as good about this game as any game,” Maryland Coach Joe Krivak said. “It’s been so long and we’ve been so close for so many years.”

The Terrapins had lost to Penn State 24 times in 28 years, but four of their previous five losses had been by five points or less.

So, when the Terps were faced with a fourth-and-five situation at the Penn State nine-yard line, Krivak had already made up his mind.

He elected to let Dan DeArmas kick a 26-yard field goal, his second of the game, with 58 seconds left, and settle for the tie.

“I had made up my mind that if we had the ball in close we’d try for the win but would kick the field goal and take the tie if it came down to it,” Krivak said. “I wasn’t going to give it away, and I’d do the same thing over again.”

The Nittany Lions had one last possession, and moved the ball to the Maryland 48, but the game ended on an incomplete pass.

The tie gave Maryland a 3-6-1 record and left the Nittany Lions (6-2-1) feeling awful.

“This is a loss for us,” Penn State senior linebacker Brian Chizmar said. “A sick loss. It shouldn’t have come down to a field goal.”

Said Penn State Coach Joe Paterno: “I don’t know what to feel. I didn’t know what to tell the team. A tie is a loss for us. A tie for them seems to be a win.”

After Maryland tied the score at 10-10 on a 28-yard field goal by DeArmas with 12:34 left and the two teams exchanged punts, Penn State drove 58 yards in three plays to the Maryland six.

However, the drive stalled as three running plays lost a yard, and the Nittany Lions settled for a 24-yard field by Ray Tarasi with 5:08 to play.

Leading the Terrapins was quarterback Neil O’Donnell, who completed 18 of 24 passes, including 14 in a row, for 219 yards.

Penn State running back Blair Thomas hit the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career. He gained 125 yards in 26 carries, giving him 1,077 yards this season.