Time to focus on the positive.

With goliaths Ohio State and Michigan - who are a combined 18-0 and rank second and third in the College Football Playoff rankings - in the rearview mirror, it is time for the Penn State faithful to set their focus on the Nittany Lions running the table and finishing the regular season with a 10-2 record.

It’s a mark that I predicted in my schedule breakdown back in the preseason, guessing correctly that Penn State’s two losses would come at the hands of Michigan and Ohio State.

Penn State’s positive stretch run started last week with a nice win over Indiana. Now, the Hoosiers are a struggling team this season, but they do always manage to play Penn State tough and any time you can get a win on the road in the Big Ten - especially by a significant margin - it’s a positive thing.

I was impressed by how the Nittany Lions defeated the Hoosiers. They were able to get after the passer, accumulating six sacks and a program-record 16 tackles for loss. Penn State was also able to run the ball effectively with true freshmen running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton combining for 159 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Both freshmen raised their season total to eight rushing touchdowns, tying the Penn State freshman record, set by Noah Cain in 2019. Allen’s three rushing scores against Indiana are the most by a PSU freshman since Austin Scott’s three against Kent State in 2003.

The performance of the Penn State rushing attack was especially impressive because of the injuries on the offensive line coming into the game. Starting left tackle Olu Fashanu, left guard Landon Tengwall and right tackle Caedan Wallace did not suit up and the players that stepped in helped to generate 179 yards rushing and four rushing scores, while only surrendering one quarterback sack.

Dare I say that the Nittany Lions’ offensive line unit is starting to develop depth and a road grading mentality? I’m sure the thought will come back to bite me, but the offensive line’s performance against Indiana was certainly a step in the right direction.

This week, based on reports, it looks like the offensive line will be missing Fashanu, Tengwall (done for the season), Wallace and possibly starting right guard Sal Wormley. So, it will once again be a next man up mentality for the offensive line unit with a 6-3 Maryland squad coming to Beaver Stadium this afternoon (3:30 ET, FOX). It will be important for Penn State to build off the momentum it created in the trenches on both sides of the ball from last week.

The Terrapins had a rough day in Madison last week against Wisconsin, surrendering 278 yards rushing in a 23-10 defeat to the Badgers. Maryland also did not do a good job of protecting its quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa as he was sacked five times. Running the ball effectively and getting after Tagovailoa will need to be the Nittany Lions’ top priorities today.

Maryland has shown this season that it is vulnerable against the run as it is giving up close to 140 rushing yards per game. The Terrapins have given up over 200 yards per game on the ground to their last two opponents - Northwestern and Wisconsin. A fast start on the ground would be a good sign for the Nittany Lions’ offense early and based on the numbers, they should have opportunities to get their rushing attack going.

Getting pressure on Tagovailoa early and often will also be vital. There is no denying the junior signal caller is talented, but he tends to make mistakes when under pressure. Tagovailoa has thrown for 2,078 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions this season. So far in his three-year career at Maryland, Tagovailoa has thrown for 24 interceptions, which bodes well for a Penn State defense that has been very good at creating takeaways. Penn State forced three turnovers last week against the Hoosiers and has 17 takeaways this season - 10 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.

The Nittany Lions defense was relentless last week - tying a program record with 16 tackles for loss against Indiana. The Nittany Lions recorded eight tackles for loss and three sacks in the first quarter and finished the first half with 13 tackles for loss. 11 different Nittany Lions recorded a tackle for loss, the most in a game for Penn State since tackle for loss became an official stat. On the season, 21 different Nittany Lions have at least a full tackle for loss and 12 have at least one sack.

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 10-point favorite over Maryland.

Since the Terrapins win over Michigan State five weeks ago, they have been a very inconsistent team. They suffered a disappointing loss to Purdue at home when the Boilermakers were not playing well. They then recorded narrow wins over struggling teams in Northwestern and Indiana, before the loss to Wisconsin last week. But even though Maryland appears to be reeling, the Nittany Lions have to come out with the same physical mentality they did last week, and they must jump on Maryland early.

The Terrapins are a talented team and if Tagovailoa and his host of talented wide receivers get hot, that will spell trouble for Penn State. But I like what I saw last week up front on both offense and defense and I think the Nittany Lions will continue to build off that.

My pick is Penn State 34, Maryland 20.