COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The stakes for Maryland and coach Michael Locksley are a little higher when Penn State comes to town.

Geographically, the Terrapins still exist on the periphery of the Big Ten. But compared to other conference schools, the Nittany Lions are pretty close to College Park — near enough to be a threat both on game day and during the recruiting season.

“A great opportunity to play a regional rivalry, a team that’s right up the road from us that focuses a quite bit of their efforts in recruiting here in our home state,” Locksley said. “We’re hopeful that we get our fans in the seats and not their fans.”

It’s a reasonable road trip for Penn State fans, and although this has generally been a one-sided rivalry — Maryland has just three victories in 44 meetings with the Nittany Lions — the Terps did win last season’s encounter. Saturday’s game against No. 22 Penn State is another chance for Maryland to try to measure up against a ranked team, and an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to rebound from a hard-fought loss to Ohio State.

Maryland (5-3, 2-3) won its first four games this season before stepping up in class to face Iowa and Ohio State. The Terps were drubbed in those two games by a combined score of 117-31.

The Nittany Lions (5-3, 2-3) lost 33-24 at Ohio State last weekend.