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UNIVERSITY PARK -- In one of the most comical sideline scenes in Beaver Stadium history, James Franklin could be seen doing 15 pushups after being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the first half Saturday.
Except he wasn't laughing.
Franklin's momentary loss of poise was about the only thing that went wrong during the Nittany Lions' 30-0 rout of Maryland.
"I was embarrassed by it," he said afterward, adding it's his first unsportsmanlike penalty in 12 years as a head coach. "So I did my pushups. Everybody's held accountable around here."
Franklin clarified that he wasn't criticizing the officiating crew.
"I think they thought I was yelling at the officials," he said. "I wasn't. I was yelling at our players."
Sean Clifford admitted a play he didn't make aggravated his coach.
"I was the cause of that," Clifford, who was across the field when it happened, said. "I heard him yelling at me."
Nonetheless, kicker Jake Pinegar said Franklin "cranked them out," adding the team has a policy "if you curse or something else happens, you have to do them to own up for it."
Tight end Brenton Strange said the team has seen Franklin do pushups in practice.
"We have competitive periods for the offense and defense, and he does them," he said. "Good for his biceps."
Strange said the team would use its opportunity to playfully "mess" with Franklin before moving onto Rutgers.
Such is the mood around here with the Nittany Lions, riding their second straight blowout, now sitting at 8-2 and well in the hunt for an attractive bowl date and opponent.
The Lions absolutely overpowered the Terps, who were as outmatched at the line of scrimmage as Penn State was at Michigan.
Midway through the third quarter, the Lions had rolled up 351 yards to the Terps' 31. Penn State's ground game was once again in high gear as the Nits outrushed Maryland 249-60.
Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are both bullish, young stars. The two combined for 200 yards of total offense for the second straight week.