COLUMN: Penn State Will Define Its Season in the Next 40 Days

The Nittany Lions open a decisive stretch of Big Ten games vs. Illinois, with Ohio State always looming.

Penn State coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the first quarter against the Bowling Green Falcons at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

If you’re reading this on the day of publication (Sept. 25), that means there are 40 days to decide Penn State’s season. That’s what remains until Penn State’s always anticipated clash against Ohio State. Between now and then only a few things will happen.

First things first

Penn State will host an upstart, Top 25-ranked Illinois this weekend, a program that hasn’t been great in a while, currently uncertain whether it will actually surge to relevance or fall prey to early season optimism and crash back to Earth. Yet head coach Bret Bielema is a steady hand with no shortage of Big Ten or big-game experience, so don’t be surprised if he comes in with a plan the Illini are ready to execute. Here’s to avoiding endless overtimes.

RELATED: Bret Bielema's long, wild history at Beaver Stadium

Road challenges

Speaking of Bielema, Penn State will make a trip to Wisconsin in this 40-day span for a clash with the Badgers in front of an always rowdy crowd. Injuries have taken a bit of the bite out of the Badgers this season, but led by Luke Fickell — a handy, ‘Who exactly would Penn State hire if James Franklin weren’t around?’ option — Wisconsin will be a well coached team, even if it is a hobbled one. Penn State has won five straight in this series dating to 2012. A win this season would make three straight victories in Madison for the Nittany Lions. Penn State has won eight of the last ten meetings overall.

Before that trip to Madison will be a rare regular-season visit to USC. The Trojans probably should have beaten Michigan in the Big House on Sept. 21, a mixed bag considering the defending national champ is a shell of what it was last season.

Nevertheless, the jury is still out regarding USC in the Big Ten, but as a program that is experiencing a fair amount of turnover from last season, this might not be the year to try to place the Trojans in the overall Big Ten hierarchy. In a not-so-different world, this game could have been a James Franklin and Penn State reunion, had Franklin ended up with the job a few years ago. Instead we’ll settle for a clash between Franklin and offensive guru Lincoln Riley. Penn State has four wins against the Trojans all-time but has never beaten USC in California.

Another week off

This doesn’t really count as a challenge in and of itself, but whatever momentum Penn State picks up over the next few weeks will be greeted by an off week following its Oct. 12 trip to USC and prior to its game at Wisconsin. The Badgers might be too banged up for that game to be quite as threatening as before, but the Nittany Lions’ mixed results out of an off week could come into play here if Wisconsin is looking for any edge. Then again, Penn State probably could use the sleep after whatever jet lag comes with a cross-country round trip.

A notable mark

Penn State’s clash with Ohio State will mark the 30th appearance for Drew Allar in a Nittany Lion uniform. It’s remarkable to consider that Allar could very well end up leaving the program after this season. Which could mean, by the time the Ohio State game is over, Allar could have five games left for Penn State.

For all of the hype and excitement that comes with being a high-profile prospect, much of Allar’s legacy at Penn State — as the player who could, or couldn’t, get the program over the hump — might be decided in just over a month’s time.

There is a world where Allar returns, meaning he would helm the offense as it looks to face Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon and Nebraska in 2025. But that merely is speculation. Whatever happens, the fact Allar is closing toward the back stretch of his career in State College is hard to wrap your head around relative to how long he has been part of the Penn State consciousness.

The playoffs will come into shape

While currently there's no genuine belief Penn State will be making plans for the national title game, there are plenty of expectations that Penn State will make the 12-team College Football Playoff field. A loss over this stretch wouldn’t end those chances, but the course of the college football season will start to take shape over the next 40 days. Long gone will be the meaningless non-conference games, replaced by season-defining moments between longtime rivals. Penn State’s place in the field, or its absence from it, could very well take form by the time the clock strikes on that 40th day.

Summarized, it is maybe silly to look at what amounts to a third of a season and say the obvious that “a lot is going to happen.” But a lot is going to happen. Legacies could be defined, the course of Penn State’s season will be determined and the Nittany Lions' chances to make a 12-team field and get over the first hump in a new college football landscape will have unfolded.

So yeah, maybe 40 days is a lot of time, but watch how fast it goes by, and how quickly everything changes.

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Ben Jones has been covering Penn State athletics for 13 years, having been to countless home and road games for Nittany Lion sporting events spanning from the Rose Bowl to the NCAA Tournament. He's also the author of the book Happy Valley Hockey. You can read his work at https://benjonesonpennstate.substack.com and follow him on X (Twitter) at Ben_Jones88