BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- It wasn't about where Penn State would fall but how far they would fall after losing 36-35 to Indiana Saturday. Today, that answer came out as the Nittany Lions fell to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 and No. 17 in the Coaches Poll.
Those rankings reflect a 10 position drop as a result of their performance against the Hoosiers. Indiana moved to No. 17 in the AP Poll while jumping to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for Penn State as it hosts No. 3 ranked Ohio State in primetime Saturday. That game will feature all the pomp and circumstance of a big game minus the fans. ESPN's College Gameday will be on campus to profile the marquee matchup at a location to be determined this week.
It won't be easy for the Nittany Lions as they are now down their top two running backs in Journey Brown and Noah Cain. Without those two, the Penn State depth chart is down to sophomore Devyn Ford and two freshmen backs in Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee.
The Buckeyes trounced Nebraska to the tune of 52-14 Saturday in their season-opening game. That victory led voters to move Ohio State up two spots in each poll leading into its game against the Nittany Lions.
Penn State does face some sort of relief the following week in hosting Maryland, who lost to Northwestern by 40 points this weekend. Following Maryland, the Nittany Lions head to Nebraska and will host Iowa before another ranked matchup, this time with Michigan.
The Wolverines, victorious over Minnesota 49-24, currently sit at No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 14 in the Coaches Poll with games against top-25 ranked Inidana and top-10 ranked Wisconsin between their Big Ten East game with Penn State.
Getting into the win column won't be easy for the Nittany Lions this week, but a win over Ohio State would prove that Saturday's loss to the Hoosiers was merely a fluke.
Pitt fell to 3-4 by way of its 45-3 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame Saturday and have earned a much needed week off as they work to regroup and salvage what is on the brink of becoming a disastrous season.