No. 16 Penn State still has a chance at a major bowl. Here’s what it’s going to take to get there

Despite the tears in the eyes of Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford last week following a blowout loss to Ohio State, it’s not over for the Nittany Lions this season.

With a drop to No. 16 in the AP poll, Penn State (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) still has an opportunity to start a resurgence and power its way into one of the coveted New Year’s Six bowl matchups, which, if you think about it, has become like the NIT of college football, given the massive success of a near-decade-old College Football Playoff system.

Of course, Penn State essentially would need to win out its remaining regular-season games to do so. This resurgence would need to kick off against Indiana (3-5, 1-4) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., 6ABC).

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Penn State needs to mimic its dominant performance against Minnesota on the heels of a 41-17 loss to Michigan. Against the Golden Gophers, Clifford and the Penn State offense had a day behind his four-touchdown performance.

Also, if Penn State delivers the same defensive performance that kept the Buckeyes to just 98 total rushing yards, the Indiana running game, fueled by Auburn transfer Shaun Shivers, might have to come up with an alternative game plan. Should the Nittany Lions also hold the Hoosiers to under 100 yards on the ground, it would be the seventh time in nine games this season.

Parker Washington. What emerged in the loss to Ohio State is just how dialed-in Washington becomes in key matchups. The junior wideout had a career-high 11 receptions for 179 yards, ranking him among the top 10 in program history in single-game receiving yards.

Earlier, we mentioned how effective Penn State has been at stopping the run, but when it comes to the secondary, the Lions far surpass the next-best team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, with 60 pass breakups this season.

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This will be the 26th meeting between the programs, with Penn State leading 23-2 all-time. The last go-around was a 24-0 Nittany Lions win at Beaver Stadium last season.

“In life, you’re going to get knocked down and take losses. … Nobody on our team is going to lay down. We’re just going to get up, look in the mirror, see what we have to correct, and just keep going.”

— Penn State tight end Theo Johnson

The remainder of Penn State’s schedule pits the Lions against unranked opponents. In a return to Beaver Stadium, Penn State will host Maryland on Nov. 12, followed by a trip to Rutgers on Nov. 19 before closing out the season with a potentially tough test against Michigan State on Nov. 26 at home. Time and television for all three games remained to be determined.