A stagnant offense and defensive collapse against Wisconsin exposed depth concerns, stripping the Nittany Lions of their ranking and jeopardizing their path to the College Football Playoff.
The Penn State Nittany Lions entered Week 4 with a No. 13 ranking.
The ranking wasn't really deserved. PSU had not beaten a Power 4 program in the first three weeks, but had a 3-0 record nonetheless when it hosted Wisconsin at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions started off hot enough against Wisconsin, taking an early 17-0 lead. However, Penn State folded in the second half as the offense failed to run the ball efficiently and Rocco Becht had a dismal outing as a passer. The defense gave up to long drives for touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
USA Today's Jordan Mendoza labeled Penn State as a fraud after the loss to Wisconsin in its Big Ten opener. Mendoza reminded readers that 24 players transferred from Big 12 program Iowa State to play for Matt Campbell at Penn State. That roster had notable holes "exposed" against the Badgers.
Wisconsin has been anything but a powerhouse in the Big Ten under head coach Luke Fickell. The showing by Penn State was not promising, and it blew a chance for the program to sneak in the College Football Playoff this year thanks to a favorable schedule that excludes Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon.
Penn State dropped out of the rankings this week, which wasn't a surprise given the outcome on Saturday. The Nittany Lions must regroup and play a 2-1 Northwestern team on the road on Friday night. The Wildcats took Indiana into the final minutes before the Hoosiers prevailed with a 29-23 win in Week 4.
After playing Northwestern, PSU will host No. 18 USC and then travel to play Michigan in back-to-back weeks. At that point, we'll know more about where this Penn State team stands.
In the preseason, Penn State hoped to be undefeated before playing the Trojans. For the Nittany Lions to have any chance to stay in the CFP conversation, they'll have to beat USC and Michigan.
Penn State's offense needs improvement
The Nittany Lions offense had a concerning day against Wisconsin. Becht went 12 of 29 passing for 114 yards and one interception. Through the first four games of the season, PSU is averaging just 4.7 yards per rush, which isn't ideal given the Group of 6 defenses it played in the first three games of the season.
Penn State needs to find out what it's good at on Friday night when playing Northwestern.
