Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue applies pressure during the Terps’ 35-17 win over South Florida on Sept. 19.

It started with disrespect and ended with a proclamation.

The tension between the Terrapins football team and Penn State was evident before the Nov. 1, 2014, bout began. The teams exchanged pushes in a pregame scuffle, and the Terps’ captains kept their hands at their sides for the pregame handshake.

Four quarters, five lead changes and one game-winning field goal later, former coach Randy Edsall stood on the turf at Beaver Stadium, where the Terps had just captured their first win over Penn State in 53 years in front of 103,969 fans.

“Let the rivalry begin,” Edsall said in an on-field televised interview.

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The circumstances surrounding Saturday’s rematch at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore are much different. The Terps enter the contest without their head coach, who was fired after four blowout losses in six games to open the season.

Interim coach Mike Locksley has downplayed the game’s significance. But defensive end Yannick Ngakoue hasn’t forgotten about last year.

“Every game’s a huge game for us,” said Ngakoue, who will lead the Terps onto the field with the state flag. “But this one is even more special.”

Last season’s contest was full of drama, even after the pregame antics. Early in the fourth quarter, linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. forced a fumble on a kickoff, and the Terps took a 17-16 lead four plays later.

“The day of the walkthrough at the stadium, [former special teams coordinator Andre Powell] said, ‘You’re going to make the biggest play of your life right here on this yard line,’” Carter said. “It happened right where he said it was going to happen.”

The back-and-forth continued until the final minute. After Nittany Lions kicker Sam Ficken drilled a 48-yard field goal to push the Penn State lead to 19-17, kicker Brad Craddock made one from 43 yards out with 51 seconds left to clinch the Terps’ victory.

The Terps lost to Michigan State in their next game, but they pulled off another big win at Michigan and appeared in the Foster Farms Bowl against Stanford, which won, 45-21.

This year’s Terps (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) will need to capture four wins in their final six games to qualify for a bowl game. Carter is hoping the Terps’ turnaround begins against Penn State (5-2, 2-1).

Their game plan starts with Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg.

“He got hurt in the last game, and he couldn’t really move around,” Carter said. “If we give him time to sit back there and read his progressions, he’ll make all the throws. He’s probably going to get drafted this year.”

Terps quarterback Perry Hills, meanwhile, will attempt to outduel Hackenberg in his second start since his re-promotion. He impressed two weeks ago at Ohio State, setting a program record for a quarterback with 170 rushing yards.

The redshirt junior has spoken of increasing his production in the passing game. Penn State, though, is ranked fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 152.3 passing yards allowed per game.

And though the Nittany Lions lost to No. 1 Ohio State by four touchdowns last week, most of the Buckeyes’ damage came on the ground; quarterbacks Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett threw for a combined 114 yards.

Left guard Andrew Zeller said nothing controversial will happen when captains Wes Brown, Quinton Jefferson and Will Likely approach midfield for the pregame handshake Saturday.

The Terps are focused on ending a three-game losing streak and don’t want any distractions.

Hills will lead the charge on the field, and though he didn’t play in last year’s heated tilt, the Pittsburgh native is drawing motivation from another source.

“Just to go and beat a team that kind of overlooked you,” Hills said. “It definitely is a big game for me.”