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Penn State football is going to be a problem for Big Ten in 2023

By Christopher Mangum

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 29: Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms up before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium on October 29, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 29: Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms up before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium on October 29, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 12: Nicholas Singleton #10 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Kaytron Allen #13 after scoring a touchdown against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 12: Nicholas Singleton #10 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Kaytron Allen #13 after scoring a touchdown against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Penn State football changed its narrative in 2022

The Nittany Lions entered the 2022 football season unranked for the first time since 2016. Like 2016, Penn State finished the season 10-2 and will now head to a New Year’s Six game.

Some of the narratives surrounding Penn State football have not changed, and rightfully so. The Lions have yet to beat a top-10 team since 2016 and got handled by both Michigan and Ohio State. That being said, the false narratives about Penn State have seemingly disappeared.

Like the 2021 season, Penn State football started the year 5-0 and made it into the top 10 before suffering its first loss on the road to a conference opponent. After the 41-17 loss in Ann Arbor, most Penn State fans expected the Nittany Lions to fall apart as they did the season before.

Yet, Penn State did the exact opposite. In fact, in the Lions’ next game, Penn State dominated a solid Minnesota squad, 45-17, in the White Out game. The win over the Golden Gophers was one of the program’s best bounce-back wins ever and arguably the most impressive of the James Franklin era.

Despite losing a dogfight to Ohio State the week after, PSU finished the 2022 season with one of the most dominant stretches of football in years.

Penn State football crushed Indiana on the road (45-14) in its second bounce-back win of the year, shutout Maryland (30-0), beat Rutgers in New Jersey (55-10), and finally beat Michigan State to get to 10 wins (35-16).

This stretch got Penn State football back into the top 10 at the end of the regular season, though after the conference championships were played, PSU ended up at No. 11.

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