Penn State Receives Curious Power Ranking From ESPN After Loss to Wisconsin
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Where do the Penn State Nittany Lions stand in the college football world after blowing a 17-point lead at home to Wisconsin on Saturday in a 24-20 loss?
Associated Press voters quickly threw the Nittany Lions from the rankings on Sunday. Penn State was ranked No. 13 before playing the Badgers on Saturday, the first time the Nittany Lions played a Power 4 program under first-year head coach Matt Campbell.
The results weren't promising for Penn State. The offense continues to have issues running the ball. The offensive line didn't protect quarterback Rocco Becht, leading to problems with the passing game.
Wisconsin scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter on drives of 75 yards and 85 yards, putting into question the conditioning for the PSU defense.
ESPN revealed a surprising power ranking for Penn State this week as it prepared to go on the road to play a Northwestern team on Friday night that gave Indiana a run for its money in Week 4. PSU dropped 12 spots in the power rankings from last week.
Frankly, a No. 24 ranking feels a little high for the Nittany Lions after Saturday's disaster against Wisconsin. The Badgers have not had a winning season since 2023, when they finished 7-6. They won four games last year.
As mentioned above, Penn State has not beaten a Power 4 program. So it’s not like the Nittany Lions can point to any impressive wins on their resume going in October.
Penn State enters a critical month of October where they will play Northwestern, No. 18 USC, and Michigan. The Nittany Lions have a chance to turn things around if they can beat the Trojans and/or Wolverines, who look much worse on the field than they did on paper two months ago.
Penn State must improve its offensive line play
The Nittany Lions must use Friday night's game against Northwestern as a way to find their identity on offense. PSU struggled to run the ball against Wisconsin, finishing with 119 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries.
That didn't help the passing game out. Rocco Becht finished going 12 of 29 passing for 114 yards and one interception. Those were dismal numbers for a PSU program that had an opportunity to turn a favorable Big Ten schedule into a bid for the College Football Playoff.
The key will be fixing the offensive line. Without a push up front, the offense will remain stagnant in Big Ten play.
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