COLLEGE PARK, Md. — There’s bad, and then there’s the performance Maryland (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) put on the field Friday night against No. 12 Penn State (4-0, 1-0) — the program’s worst loss since a 63-0 defeat at Florida State in 2013.

The Terps’ Big Ten opener against the Nittany Lions was even more lopsided than the series between these two teams itself — now 40-2-1 in favor of Penn State — as the team from Happy Valley ran away with a 59-0 win in College Park.

“Obviously disappointed — disappointed in our effort, disappointed in the discipline we played with tonight,” Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said after the game. “We were outcoached, we were outplayed, and that’s on me as the head coach and leader of this football family to have our guys prepared to go out there and play the type of game we need to play.”

Maryland’s rough night started shortly after kickoff, as quarterback Josh Jackson threw an interception to Penn State middle linebacker Jan Johnson on his second pass attempt of the game during the Terps’ opening drive. Two Maryland penalties on the play put the Nittany Lions all the way down at the Terps’ 8-yard line to start their first drive. It took Penn State just one play to score, as Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford kept the ball and rushed up the middle, untouched for an 8-yard touchdown.

“Right from the start, we didn’t give ourselves a chance and, for us, that was the disappointing part,” Locksley said.

Things never got better for Maryland, as Jackson threw his second interception of the game deep in the red zone with his team trailing 14-0 in the first quarter. The Tariq Castro-Fields pick set the Nittany Lions up for an 11-play, 95-yard touchdown drive to give them a three-touchdown lead.

“I think the air came out of us,” Locksley said. “We put together a good drive and then obviously it was not a good decision to throw the interception down there in the red zone. We wanted to at least come away with some points in there.”

Penn State would go on to outgain the Terps in total yards 619-128, convert 9-of-13 third downs, and finish a perfect 7-for-7 in the red zone.

Clifford dominated Maryland’s defense for the two and a half quarters he played, completing 26-of-31 passes for 398 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception — a lone bright spot on the night for the Terps thanks to an impressive play by freshman safety Nick Cross. Clifford also led the Nittany Lions in rushing with 54 yards on the ground.

Tailbacks Ricky Slade and Journey Brown also found paydirt for Penn State, with Brown also adding a 37-yard touchdown reception to his totals. Backup quarterback Will Levis finished the game for the Nittany Lions and rushed for two touchdowns of his own.

The Terps also had no answer for playmaking Penn State wideout KJ Hamler, who finished with a game-high six receptions and 108 yards, including a 58-yard catch and run that put the Nittany Lions up 14-0.

“It starts with tackling. I thought today we didn’t tackle as well as we’ve tackled most of the year,” Locksley said. “Today, I thought our tackling was awful, and we’ll watch the film and figure out what we have to do. We needed to affect the quarterback. We’re a pressure defense and, for whatever reason, we didn’t necessarily affect him. He made some early, quick decisions, got the ball to [Hamler], who’s a big-time player and we knew that he had the capability.”

With Maryland’s defense unable to get stops, the Terps’ offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain either. It took Maryland’s offense until late in the third quarter to even pass 100 total yards, and although Jackson finished the game under center for the Terps, he was spelled for two series by backup Tyrrell Pigrome because of his ineffectiveness. Neither found success, combining for 11-for-24 passing for 68 yards and two interceptions.

“It starts with our quarterback,” Locksley said. “This offense is quarterback-driven. We’ve got to protect Josh and do a good job of mixing it up and make sure our best players are touching the ball. We’re committed to Josh; he’s our quarterback. But just like any other position, as we evaluate each position, we all have to do our job. So Josh is our quarterback, but we also feel that if a guy isn’t productive then we have to figure out ways to get productive players on the field. But Josh is our quarterback and I have to do a better job of getting him back to playing with the confidence he played with early.”

The Terps also hurt their case by committing nine penalties that cost them 85 yards.

“It starts with playing with discipline and not beating yourself,” Locksley said when asked how he and his team begin to turn things around. “If you look at the way the game started, we didn’t do a good job of playing with discipline; we had a lot of penalties early in the game, the turnover down in the red zone. Those were all things that were self-inflicted. So to close the gap, good teams don’t beat themselves, and we’re not playing that type of football and it’s up to me to figure out how to get us playing that way.”

Penn State has now outscored Maryland 194-20 in the last four meetings between these Big Ten programs. The Terps haven't scored a touchdown on the Nittany Lions since 2016.

“We’re not going to overreact to one game,” Locksley said. “Give credit to Penn State. They were well-prepared. They played at a high level...We’ve got a lot of football left to be played. No one in that locker room is quitting. No one in that locker room is giving up. Again, it’s my job to make sure we’re prepared when we have these opportunities.”