Their secondary was getting shredded. Their best playmaker got hurt and didn’t return. Coming off their first loss of the season, this was a gut-check game for the Penn State Nittany Lions, against an upstart Indiana program anxious to take the next step.

Penn State, as it has all season, displayed a maturity beyond its years in holding off Indiana 34-27. While the Nittany Lions were far from perfect — they allowed 462 yards — they found a way. And Penn State did it in a manner it hadn’t all season, which should give the Nittany Lions some hope as they prepare for the showdown with No. 2 Ohio State this week.

Penn State was one of the least experienced teams in the country heading into this season, but it has grown up ultra quick. The Nittany Lions will be really good in 2020, but they’re also really good now — and with a resume that stacks up with any one-loss team in the country.

Penn State’s CFP chances will hinge on beating Ohio State and then either Wisconsin or Minnesota in the Big Ten championship game — just as for Georgia by beating Auburn and then LSU in the SEC title game. In comparing other CFP contenders, though, Penn State compares favorably as it is tied with LSU and Clemson for the most wins against Power Five programs with a winning record (meaning over. 500).

Wins vs. Power Five teams with a Winning Record

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The way Penn State won on Saturday will surely be a talking point for the committee and maybe even get them dinged down a spot or two in the rankings. For the second straight week, Penn State’s defense looked less-than-stellar as it yielded 371 passing yards, one week after allowing 339 in the loss to Minnesota. While that’s valid and some cause for concern going against Ohio State this week, remember that every contender outside of the Buckeyes has shown some vulnerability. Heck, No. 1 LSU allowed a 4-7 Ole Miss squad to put up 614 yards of offense, including an absurd 402 rushing yards.

There were some signs of growth, too, though.

To this point, my biggest Penn State criticism had been the boom-or-bust nature of its offense. The Nittany Lions entered Saturday tied for 13th in the country with 16 plays of 40 yards or more, but just 87th nationally in plays of 10 yards or more. And that’s even somewhat expected. It’s hard for younger teams with a first-year starter at quarterback to repeatedly pick a defense apart. Plus, with the caliber of athletes Penn State has, big plays are just going to come.

Not that time of possession is necessarily a great indicator of a quality team, but Penn State entered Saturday at just 88th in the country. The only teams in the CFP’s Top 25 that were below Penn State in that category were Oklahoma State (89th), Oregon (92nd), Oklahoma (102nd) and Notre Dame (112th) — so it’s not meaningless. And Penn State ranked just 54th in first downs (a category led by Ohio State, LSU and Clemson), which is unusually low for an offense 16th in scoring.

The problem with the big play is that it can trick you into believing a team is a little better than it is. Like if you turned on SportsCenter after Penn State’s 28-21 win over Michigan earlier this season and saw the two bombs to K.J. Hamler, you probably came away believing Penn State dominated. But check the box score: Penn State was out-gained 417-283 and had just 14 first downs compared to Michigan’s 26.

When it came down to it, could Penn State grind out a drive without a bomb to Hamler (and without Hamler on the field at all)? Those big plays are great, but they’re hard to rely on in crunch time. Look at the duration of Penn State’s first five scoring drives Saturday: 1:46, 3:09, 2:24, 3:44 and 0:28.

That’s why Penn State’s final drive, though it lacked the flashy plays, was so darn impressive: 18 plays, 75 yards in 9:01, capped by Clifford’s 1-yard touchdown run. It was a championship-level drive, and it kept Penn State’s CFP hopes alive. According to Penn State’s game notes, the final drive was the longest drive in terms of plays since a 19-play drive against Ohio State for a field goal in 2014, and the longest in terms of time since a 9:49 drive against Kent State in 2010.

That is the type of drive that would be extremely valuable against Ohio State, because it keeps Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins and company on the sideline — and could potentially wear down star edge rusher Chase Young.

Penn State was definitely not viewed as the greatest threat to Ohio State in the preseason, or even in the first month. After all, it had just 12 returning starters (second fewest in the Big Ten) and starts just one senior on offense. And with the way Michigan has turned its season around, Penn State may still not be the greatest threat. But the strides the Nittany Lions have made behind Clifford and Hamler (assuming he’s healthy) put them in position to knock off the team that many view as the best in the country.

As we’ve learned throughout the season the Nittany Lions aren’t just built for 2020, and they aren’t just a spoiler — they are a contender in their own right. James Franklin and his staff deserve a lot of credit for that.

Notebook

A look around the Big Ten.

Minnesota loses, but no, its dream season is not over

Minnesota suffered its first loss of the season, coincidentally on the same day that Baylor fell for the first time. There are now just three unbeatens: LSU, Ohio State and Clemson. The FOX broadcast crew commented that Minnesota’s dream season is over after the 23-19 loss at No. 20 Iowa, and maybe they just misspoke, but this isn’t accurate. If Minnesota beats Northwestern, Wisconsin and then either Ohio State or Penn State, it would absolutely be in the CFP.

On the bright side, Minnesota got that elusive “quality loss.” You know, the thing that helped propel teams like Alabama and Oregon ahead of the Golden Gophers, even when they were unbeaten.

In all seriousness, Minnesota didn’t play bad in this game, not by a long shot, even if it did score a season low in points. By the way, Iowa has held seven of its 10 opponents to season-low point totals. Anyways, Minnesota moved the ball well, actually out-gaining Iowa 431-290. The Golden Gophers had the ball with a chance to win the game in a tough environment, and they didn’t get it done. It happens.

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The biggest issue for Minnesota, perhaps ironically, was the thing that has plagued Iowa all season. The Hawkeyes have been unable to score touchdowns in the red zone; even after scoring TDs on three of four trips yesterday, they still settle for field goals 37.5 percent of the time, which is sixth in the country. Minnesota got to at least Iowa’s 28 on all four of its first-half drives, but it came away with a missed 50-yard field goal, a 24-yard field goal, a punt and a 20-yard field goal. Iowa, as mentioned above, scored touchdowns instead of field goals and led 20-6 at halftime. That’s a tough deficit to overcome on the road.

Iowa finally got one of these games to go its way. While the Hawkeyes did win by a point against Iowa State, they had lost three straight to ranked teams by a total of 14 points. Nate Stanley, while he missed some open throws early on, played good enough in completing 14 of 23 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

But really, it was Iowa’s defense that got it done. As the saying goes, the Hawkeyes bent but didn’t break. Tanner Morgan (25 of 36 for 368 yards) had another good game, but Iowa sacked him six times. A.J. Epenesa hasn’t put up the numbers many expected after he tied for the Big Ten lead in sacks last season, but he was huge in this one with 2.5 sacks. He reminded everyone why he’ll likely be a first round pick.

Iowa did Wisconsin a solid, because it keeps the Badgers alive in the Big Ten West Division. Minnesota and Wisconsin will meet in the regular season finale for a bid in the Big Ten title game — assuming the former can win at Northwestern and the latter can take down Purdue.

Checking in on the outrageous spread games

The Big Ten was home to two of the most outrageous spreads this week. Ohio State was a 53-point favorite over Rutgers, and Northwestern was a 39-point favorite against UMass. The Ohio State one was understandable because the Buckeyes have steamrolled everyone (and one could wonder whether that spread should have been even bigger), but the Northwestern spread was odd because the Wildcats had scored a total of 38 points in their last five games.

It turns out, Vegas is pretty darn smart.

In two matchups for the ages, Rutgers covered by only losing 56-21, and Northwestern nearly covered in winning 45-6, scoring the final 38 points of the game. The Wildcats somehow scored a season high in points with starting quarterback Aidan Smith completing only 7 of 13 passes for 76 yards and two interceptions.

Ohio State survived two games without Chase Young, and it is expected to get the star edge rusher back for the Penn State game this week that will decide the East (and maybe determine who goes to the CFP). Justin

Of note: The Buckeyes lead the nation in points per game (51.8) and points allowed per game (9.8). They may move back into the No. 1 spot after LSU allowed over 600 yards. The CFP committee keeps talking up the importance of defense when mentioning Georgia and Penn State, but who knows how it impacts the top two teams.

The most bizarre headline of the week

As I saw the headline flash across the ESPN ticker, I did a double-take. Huh? Nebraska chose to extend Scott Frost for two more years through 2026, and it choose the morning of a game it knew it would likely lose as the time to do it? It was perhaps the most bizarre headline of the week.

Frost is now 8-14 with the Cornhuskers after a 37-21 loss to Wisconsin. It’s strange because it isn’t like anyone else would be pursuing him right now, like how Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck could have garnered some interest. So Nebraska was, in essence, bidding against itself. It doesn’t make sense.

The Cornhuskers now have to win their last two games (at Maryland and vs. Iowa) just to make a bowl game. From 1969-2016, Nebraska did not play in a bowl game twice. It is in danger of missing a bowl game for the third straight season.

There hasn’t been much progress, so the timing of this was strange, to say the least.

Three Up, Three Down

The best (and worst) of the rest of the weekend in the Big Ten.

Up

1. Michigan

This game has lost some luster in recent weeks with Michigan State sputtering, but Michigan has certainly figured some things out. After a 44-10 romp of the Spartans, Michigan is 8-2. In the last three games, the Wolverines are winning by an average of 32 points per game — the third-most points in that span.

Shea Patterson had perhaps his best game at Michigan, with a season-high 384 passing yards and four touchdowns. Oddly enough, Ronnie Bell had Michigan’s first 100-yard receiving game this season, as he finished with nine catches for 150 yards. With how good Michigan’s wide receiver group was perceived to be coming into this season, that is surprising.

Since Wisconsin ran all over Michigan in the third game of the season, the Wolverines have been terrific on defense. In its last seven games, Michigan has allowed just 228.3 yards per contest (only Ohio State has been better in that span).

2. Jonathan Taylor

Wisconsin’s superstar back moved past Archie Griffin into second place all-time on the Big Ten’s rushing list after he went for 204 yards and two touchdowns against Nebraska. Taylor also broke Herschel Walker’s record for rushing yards before a player’s senior season. It was Taylor’s 11th 200-yard rushing game in his career. Since 2000, there is no player with more such games, according to College Football Reference.

Enjoy Taylor’s final few games in the Big Ten while you can, because it’s hard to imagine he won’t turn pro after this season.

3. Northwestern’s secret weapon

If someone asked you who the next Big Ten running back would be to rush for 220-plus yards and four touchdowns after Ezekiel Elliott did it in the Big Ten championship in 2015, I don’t think Evan Hull would’ve made the list — even if you had 100 guesses. Hull, by the way, is a freshman running back for Northwestern who entered Saturday with eight career carries for 15 yards.

On Saturday, Hull exploded for 220 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. It was a completely random performance as no other Wildcat had more than seven carries. That was the first such game this season and only the second in the last two years (Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson went for 238 yards and four touchdowns against Utah State last year).

Down

1. Indiana fake punt plays

There must be something about football teams in Indiana and their terrible fake punts. Four years after the Indianapolis Colts infamously tried to pull off the strangest fake punt play ever against the New England Patriots, the Hoosiers tried a similarly strange play in a huge spot against Penn State.

Huh?

It was a huge play in terms of momentum, too, as Journey Brown ripped off a 35-yard touchdown run two plays later to put Penn State ahead 27-14. In a one-score game, that’s a huge momentum swing.

Is it as bad as this from the Colts? Well, probably not. But dang, what’s going on in Indiana?

2. Nebraska starts strong, then fades

This Nebraska season has been puzzling, especially when the Cornhuskers seem to get off to good starts each week. They are on a four-game losing streak, and in the last three, they have scored first. In four of their six losses, they have scored first. It’s probably even more torturous for one of the most passionate fan bases in the country as they get their hopes up before a letdown.

At least Dedrick Mills was fantastic in racking up 188 rushing yards. That doesn’t happen often against the Badgers, as the last player to do that against Wisconsin was Ezekiel Elliott in 2014. Before that, you’d have to go back to Iowa’s Shonn Greene in 2008.

3. Michigan State continues to plummet

It was more of the same for the Spartans on offense, as it tallied just 221 total yards — the fourth time in their last five games they have been below 300. After Michigan gained 470 yards, Michigan State has now allowed 400 or more in four of its last five games after not allowing more than 358 in its first five.

The Spartans (4-6) should still become bowl eligible with Rutgers and Maryland to go on the schedule.

Looking ahead

All eyes will be on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff for No. 9 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State. This is where things really get interesting for the Buckeyes, who could potentially play five straight games against teams currently in the top 15 of the CFP rankings. Next week, it’s a trip to No. 15 Michigan, then maybe the Big Ten championship against either No. 8 Minnesota or No. 14 Wisconsin, then two CFP games. That’s all hypothetical, but if this Ohio State team can handle all that, it truly will have earned it. This backloaded schedule is going to be incredibly difficult.

The other intriguing games include Illinois (6-4) at Iowa (7-3) and Michigan (8-2) at Indiana (7-3).