Penn State's loss to Northwestern is season-altering

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Looking at the Penn State football schedule on paper before the season started made it appear that Matt Campbell would have a good chance for a good first year in Happy Valley. But after dropping the first two Big Ten games of the season, the outlook is already looking far more ominous than anticipated.

Penn State was steamrolled by Northwestern and the running game of the Wildcats on Friday night in a 34-13 setback. It was the second time in less than a week that Penn State's offense looked inept against Big Ten competition. A week after coughing up a 17-0 lead and a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against Wisconsin, Penn State looked like it didn't belong on the same field as Northwestern from the start as the Wildcats rushed for over 400 yards of offense. Penn State's defense looked lost as Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly outwitted Penn State defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn all night long. It is also worth noting that Northwestern also has Jerry Neiuheisel as quarterback coach, and Neuheisel was calling the shots for UCLA's offense last season when the Bruins had similar success on offense against Penn State's defense.

In the expanded College Football Playoff era, two losses is not exactly an automatic disqualifier for a playoff-contending team. However, back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern mean Penn State is already on a steep uphill climb if it thinks it can still make a playoff push. The good news is there is plenty of time to recover and string together the wins necessary to enter the playoff conversation.

The bad news is Penn State just lost a couple of games that were expected to be wins, and they did not look good in those losses. Penn State must put any thoughts about the College Football Playoff on the back burner and figure out how to compete at a Big Ten level, quickly.

What were expected to be Penn State's most challenging games this season are still coming up. The next two games on the schedule, at home against USC and then at Michigan, were expected to be the games that would dictate whether or not Penn State will have a good season. If Penn State rebounds with a big win next week in the whiteout against USC and then picks up a win at Michigan, the temperature will come down a bit on the heat Penn State is receiving. But is there anything Penn State has done in its first two Big Ten games to suggest they are capable of doing that?

Penn State has struggled to run the ball. The passing game looks lost without its explosive playmaker, Koby Howard. The defense looked so lost that Lynn came down to the sideline in the second half.

The loss to Wisconsin was a legitimate bummer, but the loss to Northwestern was a reason to have serious concerns about this season. What could have been a sneaky good season has quickly devolved into a year where a bowl berth may already be in serious jeopardy. The once-favorable schedule has morphed into a challenging path to the postseason in early October.

Penn State will host USC on Saturday, Oct. 10 for the annual whiteout game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State's loss to Northwestern is season-altering

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