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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For the second straight week, Penn State faced an important test. This one was of a much different nature than the test it ultimately failed in last week’s loss to Ohio State.

The danger was that the soul-crushing defeat would linger, that the Nittany Lions would lose confidence and focus and that they would have to work harder than they should to beat another inferior team, that they would look different than the flawed but forceful group that was deserving of its top-10 ranking, a team that’s been pretty damned consistent all year, even if consistently imperfect.

Instead, a better team showed up.

It only stuck around for a half, though.

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The easy column, the prudent column, would be to detail another agonizing loss by Penn State at the hands of its most hated rival and then, at the end, say that this year, it doesn’t really matter in the big picture because the path to the playoff is still clear.

(Dr. Evil voice) Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

This loss, agonizing in its own unique way even in a series of agonizing losses, matters very much because it represents the ceiling for the program under James Franklin. The wins, the recruiting rankings, the semi-consistent visits to the top 10, the massive White Outs—all important. All hard-earned. So too are the overdue facility upgrades and the about-face a school that liked to think it was above paying players did on the NIL front.

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The scene in Camp Randall, as halftime approached with Penn State trailing Wisconsin by three, went from “Oh, well” to “Oh, (choose your own four-letter expletive)” in a matter of seconds.

The Nittany Lions had been riding that edge they’d been riding for most of the USC game, where they weren’t quite sharp but they weren’t in serious danger, a Ferrari with a sticky second gear. The second half, where the team had done most of its damage this year, awaited.

And then Drew Allar limped off the field.

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As far as bye weeks are concerned, Penn State’s second idle date of the season came at a pretty good time from the standpoint that the Nittany Lions are immune from the overrated dreaded trap game that often follows a big road win; if you don’t play, you can’t fall into that trap. And their next game, a night kick in Camp Randall Stadium, should be more than enough to bring out their full effort and focus.

However, in the wake of the overtime defeat of USC, some bigger challenges than a trap game might lurk ahead, and only some of them have to do with the opponents.

As of this writing, Penn State is ranked third in the nation in both the AP and Coaches polls. Its playoff chances this week were plus-95 percent according to one predictive model. A program that has struggled to get inside the velvet rope and hang with the true elites of college football for the past few seasons is not only inside the rope but has a prime seat at the bar, and the back pats and highballs are coming from all directions.

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There was a feeling in this one, for most of the first half and a few parts of the second, that the chickens had again come home to roost. Or at least been packed in the luggage compartment for the flight from—ahem—Harrisburg.

Penn State was, once again, crapping the figurative bed against a marquee opponent on a marquee stage after weeks of gobbling up cupcakes. USC looked faster, sharper, better-coached, and more ready for the moment, even if the talent discrepancy between the teams was almost invisible. No, this wasn’t a game against Ohio State or Michigan but it was a game against a dangerous and desperate group led by a coach who knows a thing or two about scoring points. It was 20-6 at halftime but it felt like it could have been worse as easily as it could have been better, and the Nittany Lions knew they had to battle the southern California heat as well as a team that was gaining confidence with each drive after some disappointments of its own the last few weeks.

Instead of letting the moment take them, though, as they had so many times the last few seasons, this group of Nittany Lions took the moment and held on, emerging with an overtime win that maintained the trajectory of the season and arguably changed the direction of the program.

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Penn State’s afternoon started like an old man trying to get the blood circulating after waking up—slowly, deliberately, with a few creaks and groans along the way.

It ended ignominiously, with a touchdown surrendered in the final minute on a semi-busted coverage by a freshman safety.

And yet, once again, in the middle, the Nittany Lions did the things they needed to do against an opponent they needed to beat, headlocking a sloppy UCLA squad for a 27-11 win and staying on track for the games that will determine their season.

And although another slow start and that rare late score allowed by the defense will probably be enough on their own to keep some grumbling, isn’t it about time we start celebrating these Nittany Lions for what they are rather than gripe about what they are not?

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Thirty years ago, one of the greatest offenses in college football completed a legendary comeback as Penn State defeated Illinois.

Three years ago, one of the most forgettable offenses in Nittany Lion history showed its futility again … and again … and again, as Penn State lost to Illinois in nine overtimes, the longest game in college football history.

A group that bore much more resemblance to the 1994 Penn State team that was honored Saturday than the 2021 version needed another fourth-quarter score to put away another scrappy Illinois team, though this one got in its own way more than the Fighting Illini did.

The No. 9 Nittany Lions leaned on their two thoroughbred running backs, a bounce-back defense, and two savvy coordinators who directed those respective units in an uncomfortably comfortable 21-7 win over 19^th-ranked Illinois.

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Dispatches from Beaver Stadium following the Kent State game, aka the Liam Clifford Breakout Party …

First off all, it should be noted once again that the Nittany Lions are both at fault and not at fault for the level of opponent. College football schedules, for reasons known only to Mark Emmert and the CIA, are put together several years in advance. And they do get a pass for the pandemic wreaking particular havoc on this particular opponent scheduling. But while Penn State couldn’t have known the Golden Flashes would be this bad in 2024, they had to figure they weren’t going to be great. But hey, Kent State gets its paycheck, Penn State gets a dub heading into the Big Ten season, and on we go.

I don’t think the Nittany Lions played particularly well, nor were they particularly bad. They arguably could have beaten this Kent State team — even before it lost its top two quarterbacks to injuries — by 30 or 40 points with a random mix of first- and second-stringers playing the entire game. At least initially, they didn’t look particularly crisp on offense, and the defense continued its early season trend of silly penalties, including a couple more neutral zone infractions.

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Ah, yes, the week 3 bye. A chance to reflect on all we’ve learned about Penn State through the first two games, which is to say: Not much. Are the Nittany Lions the balanced bullies we saw in Morgantown or the flawed playoff pretenders that scratched out a one-possession win over a middling Bowling Green team at home? Or, perhaps, something completely different than either of those two versions?

We won’t know for a few more weeks. But there were a few things that hinted at what the Lions’ immediate future might look like, and a few that are unlikely to stay that way, good or bad, for the remainder of the year.

3 THINGS THAT DON’T MATTER

Third-down struggles: Yes, Penn State’s third-down conversion rate (35%, 94th in FBS) is mildly disturbing when you consider it hasn’t exactly faced world-beating defenses, and if that trend continues, it will mean fewer plays for the offense to be on the field and more plays for a suddenly suspect defense to have to be on the field. However, this is a small sample size, and third-down conversion rate, while not something you want to disregard entirely, is not a be-all, end-all statistic. Why? If you can pick up first downs, or even big, chunky, sexy touchdowns, on first or second down, there’s no need to convert on third. The Nittany Lions have, thanks to their crafty coordinator and a revitalized Drew Allar, more explosive punch than we’ve seen recently (more on this in a bit), and have shown the ability to score points despite the third-down misfires. Expect this stat to improve a bit as the season progresses but also for the offense to deliver the chunk plays that will mitigate it even if it doesn’t.

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