Sunday Column: When Dust Settles in Pennsylvania (and Ohio), Nittany Lions Have Another Huge Opportunity Ahead

I understand the desire of fans in northern climates to see overhyped SEC teams play in cold-weather playoff games. I do. But the thing about really, really cold weather is that it usually makes for bad football.

After it took advantage of a gift from its (tongue nailed to the side of cheek) old pal Michigan on Saturday, Penn State, against not all but many odds, will get to avoid the cold for at least one more game.

The Nittany Lions had a little trouble with ball security in their 44-7 pasting of Maryland in frosty Beaver Stadium. Nick Singleton fumbled on the first play of the game. Kaytron Allen had a bobbled snap not long after. Even the sticky-handed Tyler Warren dropped a pass. And, well, that’s what happens in cold weather. The hands get numb. The football gets slick. The arms and legs move fractionally slower.

Talent, though, wins out in any sort of weather, and Penn State quickly turned the game into yet another blowout in a lopsided rivalry thanks to its elite talents on both sides of the ball.

On defense, Abdul Carter’s constant presence in the backfield disrupted just about everything the Terps were trying to do, and made it easier for coordinator Tom Allen to be sneaky or just straight-up aggressive whenever he wanted to. After Maryland covered 25 yards to the end zone on its first offensive play, it managed 169 yards, three turnovers and zero points during the final 56 plays. The Oregon offense the Lions will see next week in Indy bears almost no resemblance to what they saw Saturday (or, really, at any point this season), but this unit is in prime form at the right time.

Just as Carter’s presence made a great defense even better this season, and again Saturday, Warren’s presence has made a not-that-dynamic Penn State offense more productive and more balanced than it probably ought to be. That he continues to get open despite defenses not having to key on any other receiver is a credit to him and Andy Kotelnicki. There were more than a few fans beseeching Kotelnicki to “stop being cute” during another dry first quarter for the offense, but the fact remains that cute plus Drew Allar’s mettle is what makes this offense go. The misdirection and the movement is what winds up getting Warren open on crossers, or one-on-one against a linebacker. The big fella deserves every bit of the praise he’s getting this season, but there is no question he is flourishing because of an offensive scheme that has needed him to be every bit the player he is in every tight spot it’s been in. It’s hard to feel quite as good about the offense as you feel about the defense heading toward the postseason, especially given how pedestrian the running attack has looked in recent weeks, but 44, 15, and the mad scientist calling the plays give Penn State a puncher’s chance against anyone, especially with that defense.

With whatever respect is due to Maryland, let’s turn our attention to the immediate future for the Nittany Lions, which turned from a playoff home game in three weeks to a showdown with the Ducks thanks to yet another Ryan Day hairball against Michigan. It’s difficult to imagine that the Nittany Lions would be left out of the playoff with a Big Ten championship loss, and would have a decent shot at hosting that cold-weather game after all. And with a win? A top overall seed and a first-round bye, which is wild to think about if you’ve agonized over this team’s nagging flaws more than you’ve admired its unique strengths this year.

At the same time, we knew this was going to be a crazy season of college football, with the loss of some of the sport’s premier coaches plus Power 5 teams in new conferences plus the widespread effect of the transfer portal plus a lack of truly elite teams that play in any sort of weather. Opportunities for programs trying to get over whatever hump they were stuck on were rampant, and Penn State, even if at times by the skin of its teeth, took advantage. The Nittany Lions are a handful of plays from being 9-3 but they are also a handful of plays from being 12-0, and as it stands, they have a chance for a conference crown and terrific position in the playoff. They fell short against the lone marquee opponent on the schedule but now will have games against at least two more marquee opponents during the next month.

Yes, they needed some help from an old enemy to get there, but they also helped themselves as much as any team in the country did this season, and if they don’t always make it easy on themselves, they have players who make things hard for any opponent regardless of who has the football. That’s a solid recipe for winning no matter who is on the opposite sideline or what the game time thermometer reads.