(AP) – Drew Allar threw three of his four touchdown passes in the first half and No. 9 Penn State easily defeated Maryland 51-15 on Saturday, setting up a showdown with Michigan next week.

The Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 11 CFP) were never in danger of their matchup with struggling Maryland turning into a trap game. The Terrapins (5-4, 2-4) have lost four straight games, and a season that began with five straight wins is in danger of truly failing.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Penn State’s top receiver of the season, went down in the fourth quarter holding his left knee but was able to run away.

Penn State’s defensive front dominated. The Terrapins finished with minus-49 yards rushing. Six sacks played a role, but even running backs Roman Hemby, Antwain Littleton II and Colby McDonald scored minus-6 yards on their seven carries.

Now the Nittany Lions face a Michigan team that ran for 418 yards in their meeting last season.

Taulia Tagovailoa completed his first 17 pass attempts for the Terrapins but couldn’t stop Penn State from taking a 21-7 halftime lead. One of those completions resulted in a 4-1 loss on Maryland’s first possession, and the Nittany Lions took the ball and scored first on Allar’s 6-yard pass to Dante Cephas.

The Terps responded with a drive into Penn State territory, but Tai Felton lost a fumble at the end of a 9-yard reception.

The Nittany Lions took a 14-0 lead on a trick play that didn’t seem to work quite as intended. Allar stood at third at the Maryland 2, lined up at wide receiver and then took a pitch from quarterback Beau Pribula. Allar was cut off by a Maryland defender and ran up the middle before falling. As he fell to the ground, he managed to hit the ball forward into the open Theo Johnson for a touchdown.

A rough-the-punter penalty helped the Terps tie the score. Tagovailoa threw a 7-yard pass to Hemby, but Allar responded with an 8-yard pass to Tyler Warren.

Tagovailoa finished the game with 286 yards passing, but threw an interception and lost a fumble. Allar finished 25 of 34 for 240 yards.

Allar’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Cephas early in the fourth made the score 31-7. Tagovailoa threw a 1-yard TD pass to Jeshaun Jones.

Kaytron Allen’s 10-yard scoring run for Penn State made it 38-15.

Three of Maryland’s four turnovers came in the final quarter, allowing the Nittany Lions to extend their lead.

THE TAKING AWAY
Penn State: The big test comes next week, but the Nittany Lions appear to be better prepared for Michigan’s offense than they were last year. Allar, who has thrown just one interception all season, avoided any big mistakes on Saturday.

Maryland: The Terps are now 0-33 against ranked Big Ten teams since joining the league in 2014. The season would still look a lot better for them if they hadn’t suffered two losses to Illinois and Northwestern before Saturday’s game after their loss to Ohio State. Maryland needs one more win to become bowl eligible.

NEXT
Penn State: The Nittany Lions host Michigan next Saturday.