There was a moment in Saturday’s smackdown of Purdue that nicely illustrated both the problem for defenses that must play Penn State and the reason the Nittany Lions, after a 49-10 win that was every bit the blowout it was expected to be, have ascended to the top five and, perhaps in a way they didn’t in the first half of the season, truly look like a top five program.

Nick Singleton had just plowed into the end zone and was celebrating with his teammates. First Anthony Donkoh, with the Dirty Dancing lift. Then Drew Allar, with a practiced handshake and a quick nod. And then Singleton got props from the star of the day (and of the season, really): a short, almost businesslike acknowledgement from Tyler Warren. It was two lions nodding at one another over a big kill, two alphas understanding the moment for what it was but also that it was only a small part of their shared goal of ruling the entire jungle.

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