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Penn State Football: Forget the rankings, just win big to finish the season

By Barry Leonard Jr.

aSTATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 21: Curtis Cothran #52 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts after a tackle in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines on October 21, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
aSTATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 21: Curtis Cothran #52 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts after a tackle in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines on October 21, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Penn State football and its fans can’t worry about where the Nittany Lions are in the College Football Playoff rankings.  The Nittany Lions need to just finish the season strong.

There was understandably some disappointment last week when Penn State lost a golden opportunity in the game at Ohio State. Up double-digits in the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions were unable to hold off the furious comeback of the Buckeyes and left Columbus with a heartbreaking loss.

Fans wasted no time after the loss to take to the various social media platforms to express their mix of anger and disappointment. Several of the initial posts included words that would make my grandmother cringe.

Nittany Nation seemed to lose all hope of a successful season after the loss to the Buckeyes.

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Fortunately, when stepping back from the situation and taking emotion out of it, it’s easy to see that the season is actually not lost. There is still plenty left to play for.

Sure, a top-four ranking, and most likely the top spot, in the initial College Football Playoff rankings was a reality for the Nittany Lions if they had beaten the Buckeyes, but they are still in the small minority of teams with a legitimate chance.

Penn State landed at No.7 in the initial rankings, just three spots out of the playoff. With four weeks left in the regular season, there’s plenty of football left to be played. The reality is that those rankings mean very little at this point in time. All that matters is the final ranking at the end of the season.

The Nittany Lions need to stay the course set by head coach James Franklin and just take care of business with the remaining opponents. Since Penn State plays just one more team — Michigan State — with a current winning record, the Nittany Lions need to win each game in impressive fashion.

When asked about what Penn State needs to do in the final month of the season, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said, “The best thing Penn State can do is blow teams out.”

Ohio State, the team that’s at No. 6, defeated Rutgers, Nebraska, and Maryland — Penn State’s final three opponents — by a combined total of 174-28. A dominant stat like that is what’s needed from the Nittany Lions to close out the season.

Next: Penn State Looks to Rebound at Michigan State

In the end Penn State can only control its own season. The Nittany Lions and their fans can’t worry about the rankings each week and what other teams are doing. Win the final four games in dominant fashion and see what happens.

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