The Penn State spiral has accelerated to a free fall. Head coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions just dropped a home battle against Northwestern, a program whose season-defining victory prior to their meeting in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, was a 3-point win against the staggering UCLA, a name that sends chills down the spine of anyone associated with Penn State football.
Today's 22-21 final cemented Penn State's third straight loss on the season after opening the year on a wave of three straight victories and a top-5 ranking in the AP Poll. 3-3 sure feels a lot worse after starting 3-0, and no one is feeling the crushing weight of disappointment more than the program's head in Franklin.
It's not just big games, anymore. The program is in complete disarray top to bottom. Winless in conference play, Penn State has yet to finish a game ahead of a power four opponent, even in the anemic bottom half of the Big 10 Conference. Of course, Penn State no longer views the league standings from above -- they're dead last. 0-3 with Michigan State, and Rutgers, winless among the ranks of Wisconsin and Purdue. This is rock bottom.
The program is so far gone and so absent of hope that when starting senior quarterback Drew Allar went down with injury against Northwestern, that injury was, well, insult to injury for Franklin's program. The following announcement that the incident would be season-ending for Allar, especially near the tail end of the season's low point (knock on wood?), doesn't change the team's outlook whatsoever.
This was a team with College Football Playoff aspirations. Now with three straight losses in league play, even a complete turnaround and six straight wins to close out the season would leave Penn State's window for an at-large bid cracked open by just a few inches.
For most programs in the nation, a nine-win season is an admirable goal. A healthy sum of wins and a likely finish in the top 25 for a power four team. But James Franklin and Penn State have set a higher standard for themselves, and a team clearly on the decline without its starting quarterback has run empty on hope.
Things may get even worse for the Nittany Lions before they turn the corner.
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