Maryland has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since 2014, and, similar to when Penn State joined the league 29 seasons ago (already), it’s not been the easiest transition.

For one, the Terps do not have a dominant football program so a division including Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and now a Michigan State program on solid ground adds to the challenge.

As Maryland and Penn State, both 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten, are set to test each other at Maryland Stadium (3:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1), two proud Altoona alums who made their marks with the Terps weighed in.

Two of four Benson brothers — Todd and Shawn — were starters at Maryland, Todd in the late 1970s at defensive end, Shawn in the early ’80s on the offensive line — live in the Maryland-Virginia region, regularly attend the Terps’ games and root for their success.

But they also miss the Atlantic Coast Conference, which they believe was a better fit.

“They were a founding member of the ACC so it took a while to get used to that,” Shawn, one of four brothers to earn Division I scholarships (Brad and Troy were the others), said. “I had a lot of mixed emotions about it, especially at first.”

Todd took it a step further, saying he thinks joining the Big Ten for financial reasons “was a bad thing” for Maryland.

“I think it’s harder for the fans to travel,” he said. “I feel the ACC is competitive, just like the Big Ten. They’ve won as many national championships in the last 10 years as anybody … I think a lot of other people in the Maryland area would agree.”

When the Terps were in the ACC, fans — particularly players’ families — could easily drive to Virginia and the Carolinas.

“Penn State is obviously easy and Ohio State not too bad, but now they have to go to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan State,” Todd said.

He said West Virginia, mired in the Big 12 that soon will lose Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, is in a similar situation.

“It’s not good,” Todd said.

Shawn thinks the Big Ten’s power imbalance between the rugged East Division and the so-so West Division, also affects Maryland.

“They should mix that up,” he said. “It’s just so one-sided, too lopsided in my opinion.”

The Terps won their first meeting at Penn State in the Big Ten, 20-19 at Beaver Stadium in 2014. Randy Edsall was their coach. He was replaced by D.J. Durkin, who was replaced by Mike Locksley.

Durkin was fired after a player, offensive lineman Jordan McNair, died on his watch due to heat stroke, in 2018.

“That was a horrible situation for the family and the university itself,” Shawn said. “A lot of people were affected by that. That was a major setback that they had to overcome, but I think we’re doing better.”

The Terps have a potentially explosive offense led by quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who engineered a 35-19 rout over the Nittany Lions last year at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State came into an empty stadium, due to COVID-19, 0-2 and dispirited.

“Last year was a great win,” Shawn said. “It was a COVID-affected year, but you still had teams going out and competing. A game is a game. It probably helped in the recruiting wars a little bit but anytime you beat a program like Penn State there, that’s a significant win.”

It also showed the emotional swings in the series. Penn State won, 59-0, on its last trip to College Park (2019), and has won the last two games there by a combined 125-3.

That reality tempers Todd’s optimism.

“I watch them on TV and this weekend I’m going,” he said.

“They can look really good. They looked good against West Virginia and Syracuse. They have potential to look good against teams but their consistency is just not there.”

Shawn called Tagovailoa “a darn good quarterback” and believes Locksley has recruited well.

“I don’t see why Maryland shouldn’t be able to compete in the Big Ten with the talent in this area,” he said. “If we keep a lot of these kids that come out of this Washington Catholic league, some great players — Penn State has a couple of them — I’m hoping Locksley can continue to get these kids. We’re just not there yet. We need more depth on our O-and D-lines.”

In that regard, Maryland isn’t that much different than Penn State as the Lions have shown up-front vulnerability in their three losses.

“They’ve got to be able to strike early,” Shawn said. “It’s a game of momentum. Hope we have a chance. That’s all we can ask for.”

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Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.