COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Dante Cephas was the wide receiver in the transfer portal after last season who Penn State and a lot of other schools wanted.
But through the first eight games, Cephas played sparingly and looked nothing like the two-time all-conference player he was at Kent State.
That all changed Saturday at SECU Stadium, where he caught six passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns in the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions’ 51-15 thumping of Maryland.
“Today means a lot,” Cephas said. “It just adds more confidence and puts more fuel to the fire for the offense. I feel I’m the most comfortable and confident I’ve ever been. I’m doing what I need to do to help the team win.
“I’m just playing faster with more confidence. I’m just out there flying around.”
Cephas’s belated emergence as a second option at wide receiver with KeAndre Lambert-Smith made a difference in quarterback Drew Allar and the Penn State offense.
Allar, looking as comfortable and confident as he has all season, completed 25-of-34 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in arguably the best performance of his brief career.
“Ceph has been a great asset to our team,” Allar said. “He brings a lot to the table, even if it maybe hasn’t shown up in games. He’s definitely one of the hardest workers in that receiver room.
“He’s always learning. He’s always growing, not only physically, but mentally. I’m just super happy for him because he deserves this type of game.”
The Lions (5-1 Big Ten, 8-1) rebounded from their subpar performance against Indiana and took command early, handing the Terrapins (2-4, 5-4) their fourth consecutive loss and their 43rd defeat in 47 series meetings.
Penn State has outscored Maryland 207-32 in the last four games in College Park.
“With me and so many other guys from the DMV area, it’s somewhat like a homecoming game for us,” left tackle Olu Fashanu said. “To come out here and do our jobs and perform the way we did there’s nothing more that you want.”
Defensively, Penn State sacked Taulia Tagovailoa six times and forced him into two turnovers, an interception by Dom DeLuca and a fumble recovery by Jordan van den Berg.
The Lions held the Terps to minus-49 yards rushing and 234 total yards. Tagovailoa completed 29-of-39 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, but he was 7-for-14 for 75 yards in the second half when he committed both of his turnovers.
“It was our attitude when we got on the bus yesterday (Friday) that really set the tone,” linebacker Curtis Jacobs said. ”We knew we had to come out here and make a statement. We didn’t really handle business as a defense last week.
“Being able to handle our business today gives us a good stepping stone to keep pushing as we make this final stretch run.”
Jacobs and safety Jaylen Reed stopped Maryland’s first drive, combining to tackle tight end Corey Dyches for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-2 at the Terps’ 44.
A few minutes later, Allar lobbed a pretty pass to Cephas, who caught it in the right corner of the end zone for his first Penn State touchdown.
“I actually knew I didn’t have a lot of real estate left in the end zone,” Cephas said. “I was trying to hold my line and then work the catch. It was a great ball by Drew. I just finished it.
“There was definitely some relief. You just always got it in the back of your mind, ‘When is it gonna happen? When is it gonna come?’ ”
Cephas’ second touchdown came early in the fourth quarter when Allar found him in the left corner of the end zone for a 15-yard score that made it 31-7. He started in place of Trey Wallace, who suffered an upper-body injury that might sideline him for a while.
“It was real nice seeing Ceph have that game,” Lambert-Smith said. “That’s what we brought him here to do, make plays and contribute. You can tell he was more comfortable out there.”
Lambert-Smith caught eight passes for 95 yards, and tight ends Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren made TD receptions. Kaytron Allen carried 14 times for 91 yards, and Nick Singleton returned a kickoff 51 yards.
“The most important thing offensively is that we were able to stay on schedule,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We were efficient on first and second down and created manageable situations. I thought the O-line did a great job protecting the quarterback.
“Drew was comfortable moving through his progressions and using his eyes to get people open.”
The Lions can now turn their attention towards their Big Ten showdown against No. 2 Michigan next weekend at Beaver Stadium with another option on offense.
“Having another guy that people have to worry about on film changes everything,” Franklin said. “When there’s one guy (Lambert-Smith) that people are concerned about, defenses can figure out a way to make that challenging. But now there are multiple guys.
“Hopefully it’s a big confidence booster for him (Cephas) and for us and we can build on it.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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