UNIVERSITY PARK — Before Penn State kicked off against Maryland on Saturday afternoon, coach James Franklin said he and his team heard the big news out of Columbus, Ohio, with No. 2 Ohio State falling to Michigan in both teams’ regular-season finales.

But the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions had business of their own to attend to with the Terrapins visiting Beaver Stadium on senior day.

Ohio State’s defeat cleared the way for Penn State to play in the Big Ten title game Dec. 7, provided the Nittany Lions could handle Maryland.

With the Buckeyes’ fate sealed before kickoff in Happy Valley, Penn State did its part, pummeling Maryland, 44-7.

“We needed to win and play well,” Franklin said. “Lot of eyes watching these games, looking at the statistics — all those things are important. We’re fighting to keep this family together as long as we possibly can. Wins do that, statistics do that, how it looks — all those things matter.

“We were going to play for four quarters and fight until the end and do everything we had to do to put ourselves in the best position to continue the season as long as possible and also be seeded (in the College Football Playoff) as high as possible.”

Penn State (11-1, 8-1) will face No. 1 Oregon (11-0, 8-0) on Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., with a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff on the line.

The Nittany Lions did not enjoy a strong start as Nick Singleton fumbled on the first play of the game, with Maryland (4-8, 1-8) taking over at Penn State’s 25-yard line.

MJ Morris then quickly dropped a pass into the end zone for Kaden Prather on Maryland’s opening play, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead 11 seconds into the game.

Penn State responded with a 49-yard Ryan Barker field goal to make the score 7-3, but both teams struggled to gain traction over their ensuing handful of possessions.

However, Penn State got rolling late in the first quarter, putting together a 13-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that resulted in the first of 44 unanswered points.

“Obviously, the game did not start the way we wanted it to start — very, very sloppy on offense and on defense,” Franklin said. “But after that, from that point on, very pleased.”

With 12:56 left in the second quarter, Singleton did the honors from 2 yards, putting Penn State up 10-7.

Following a fourth-down stop by the Nittany Lions defense, Drew Allar hit Khalil Dinkins on Penn State’s next drive for a 23-yard gain.

That set up an Allar keeper from the goal line that gave the Nittany Lions a 17-7 lead at the 10:11 mark.

Allar finished 17 of 26 through the air with 171 yards and two total touchdowns. Tyler Warren caught six passes for 68 yards and a score.

Singleton led the backfield with 13 carries for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Penn State struggled with ball security, fumbling four times, only one of which Maryland managed to recover.

About midway through the second quarter, Allar fumbled but managed to flip the ball to Warren as he was swarmed by Maryland defenders.

Penn State’s dynamic tight end turned the broken play into a 29-yard gain, setting up a short Beau Pribula touchdown run that made the score 24-7 with 6:53 left in the first half.

Morris threw his first of three interceptions on Maryland’s ensuing drive, with Audavion Collins coming down with the ball near midfield.

Six plays later, Allar found Warren in the corner of the end zone for six more points, with Penn State taking a 31-7 lead with 1:50 left in the half.

In desperate need of points before halftime, Maryland embarked on a promising drive, only for Morris to be picked by Tony Rojas at the 9-yard line.

The third quarter was scoreless as the Nittany Lions limited Maryland to 27 yards of total offense.

On the day, the Terrapins managed only 194, with Penn State collecting six sacks and three picks.

“We’re still getting better,” said defensive end Abdul Carter, who led Penn State with six tackles and two sacks. “Each week we just keep getting better and better, and we’re going to continue to do that throughout the season. We’re going to finish strong.”

By comparison, the Nittany Lions posted 412 yards of total offense.

Early in the fourth, Singleton punched it in from 18 yards, scoring his second touchdown of the day and giving Penn State a 38-7 lead with 14:20 to play.

Maryland’s offensive woes perpetuated, whereas Penn State’s offense, now led by Pribula, managed one final score as time expired.

Pribula hit freshman wideout Tyseer Denmark for a 15-yard touchdown, ending the game and creating the final score of 44-7.

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