For as Big as Wisconsin Week was for Penn State, the Northwestern Game is Ten Times Bigger

It's no secret that the Matt Campbell era in Happy Valley is off to a horrific start. He gets no credit for his first three wins over Marshall, Temple, and Buffalo because, no matter who the coach of the Nittany Lions is, those are games to be won.

What also needs to be a guaranteed win is when you are leading your conference rival 17-0 as 10-point favorites in the football game. That scenario is a must-win, and the Nittany Lions didn't get it done, and that is currently Matt Campbell resume.

Unfortunately for him, his life doesn't get any easier at all as Penn State stares down a really tough challenge coming their way on Friday night. 

They will be on the road in Evanston, Illinois, as the first team to play inside the brand-new Kyle Field at Northwestern. Not only will they be opening that stadium, but they will be taking on a nasty Northwestern team that no one should want to face right now.

In his press conference on Tuesday, the Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell discussed how great a challenge this was for his team and that they would learn a ton about each other and their team in this matchup. 

They are absolutely at a fork in the road for their season in both the short term and long term. This is a situation where their team can stand up and fight, or they can fold their cards on the season.

If the latter happens, oh boy it is going to get loud quickly in Happy Valley.

The Penn State loss to Wisconsin was truly one of the worst losses that you will ever see. Given the fact that they were huge favorites coming in, and then they had a massive lead in the football game only to blow it thanks to really bad play and bad coaching was a total disaster.

If the same thing repeats itself on Friday night, it is going to get quite loud in Happy Valley. The fanbase certainly seems split right now, but objectively speaking, this was supposed to be a Penn State team that was competing to make the Playoffs with their schedule.

Had the Nittany Lions lost their three toughest games against Michigan, USC, and Washington, that would be a totally different story. Instead, they slipped up against a wounded animal in the Badgers, and it was disappointing, to say the least.

All of that goes away with a win on Friday night. On the other side of that coin, all of the negativity gets gasoline poured on it, and the conversation gets very loud.

For as big a game as Penn State had last week, this one is 10 times bigger. "Must win" is an understatement. They must win and must look good to cool the temperature in Happy Valley.