Stefon Diggs

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — In February 2012, Stefon Diggs stood onstage at Looney’s Pub between his mother and little brother and announced to a packed house that he would be playing football at this university, his hometown school.

In the process, the Gaithersburg native spurned two national powerhouses in Ohio State and Florida. It was an unorthodox decision considering many of the best players from this state, including several who Diggs played against and alongside while at Good Counsel High School, left to join more marquee programs than the Terrapins football team.

On Saturday against Penn State at Beaver Stadium, Diggs was reunited with a number of those players who departed from this state to play for the Nittany Lions. And in the first meeting between the teams in more than 20 years, the Terps earned a 20-19 victory behind kicker Brad Craddock’s 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining in regulation.

It was the Terps’ first victory at Penn State and second overall since the series started in 1917.

“For me, it’s also just a way to show that you can stay home and continue to do the things that you want to do,” said Diggs, who led the Terps with six catches for 53 yards. “For the recruitment and all that, hopefully it helps.”

Nine players on the Penn State roster hail from this state, including four members of the secondary. Starting cornerback Trevor Williams, starting strong safety Adrian Amos and backup cornerback Da’Quan Davis, who participated Saturday, all played high school football at Calvert Hall in Baltimore. Starting free safety Marcus Allen, meanwhile, is from Upper Marlboro and attended Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School.

Starting right guard Brian Gaia is from Pasadena and played for the Gilman School in Baltimore. Backup tight end Brent Wilkerson, who saw action Saturday, attended DeMatha High School, which is a short drive down Route 1 from this university. And starting left tackle Donovan Smith, who sat out against the Terps because of injury, is from Owings Mills.

“A lot of guys on defense, a majority of their secondary, I’m familiar with, really familiar with. We’re all from the same area,” Diggs said. “You can feel the rivalry. Against people that you know, you always want to come out on top. So it was a great battle.”

Coach Randy Edsall called the victory the biggest of his four-year tenure in College Park, not only because the Terps had lost 35 of 37 games against Penn State before Saturday, but also due to the fact that it may provide his program with an upper hand on the recruiting trail.

“The only way you beat teams in recruiting a lot of time is you beat them on the field,” Edsall said. “And [when] you beat people on the field, it’s going to help you with recruiting because it makes a statement. It makes a statement to those kids. So I would think this is going to help us big-time.”

For the second straight week Saturday, the Terps offense struggled to move the ball effectively. The unit compiled just 33 rushing yards, went 1 of 14 on third down, lost two fumbles and punted on 11 of its 18 possessions.

The Terps scored seven points through the first three quarters, but stout play from the defense kept the team in the contest, as Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg finished 18 of 42 passing for 177 yards.

Terps quarterback C.J. Brown then led the unit on back-to-back scoring drives to open the fourth quarter — the first ended on a field goal, the second on a touchdown run — to give the Terps a 17-16 lead.

Nittany Lions kicker Sam Ficken drilled a 48-yard field goal with 6:52 left in the game, his fourth successful kick in as many tries on the afternoon, to give Penn State a brief advantage before Craddock’s successful conversion.

“The biggest thing for us is everyone settled down, including myself,” said Brown, who completed 18 of 38 passes for 161 yards. “I was just excited. And then, definitely, in the second half we were settled down, calm. We were making the right checks, making the right reads. And we were executing.”

In May, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said the Terps “don’t have a chance” when it comes to competing for top-level recruits. After all, Penn State is a program steeped in tradition with a passionate fan base that fills the more than 100,000 seats at Beaver Stadium on a regular basis.

Saturday’s win for the Terps, Edsall said, could help change that balance of power.

“Let the rivalry begin,” Edsall said. “This is great for college football; this is great for the region.”