Maryland men’s lacrosse is No. 3 in rankings after taking down undefeated Penn State

After taking down then-No. 1 Penn State this weekend, Maryland men’s lacrosse jumped from No. 8 to No. 3 in the new Inside Lacrosse rankings.

Following a two-game skid against Notre Dame and Villanova, the Terps dropped down to No. 10 with an even harder schedule in front of them. Since, they have beaten three straight ranked opponents in defending national champion North Carolina, No. 18 Michigan and No. 1 Penn State.

Right now, there’s a joke going around the college lacrosse world, dubbed “The curse of No. 1.”

Even if you don’t believe in curses, there’s an undeniably strange pattern happening with the Inside Lacrosse rankings. The Penn State loss marked the sixth straight week where the No. 1 ranked team has gone on to lose immediately after earning the top spot. It all started with the Terps, who fell to Notre Dame after sharing the top ranking with Denver (who also lost to Ohio State that week).

With Syracuse commanding the No. 1 ranking this week, now it becomes a matter of who can hold on to it the longest.