13. Penn State (5-5, 0-2)
The Nittany Lions have been pretty solid in recent years, but is there cause for concern in Micah Shrewsberry’s first year as head coach? They added a nice transfer in former Siena star Jalen Pickett, and are getting double-digit scoring efforts from Seth Lundy and Sam Sessions, but the overall talent level just isn’t at a Big Ten level for this roster, at least that’s what it seems after one month.
For the most part, the Nittany Lions have avoided upset, though a November loss at Massachusetts may not look great this season. Including a nice win over a terrible Oregon State team, Penn State has beaten the teams they were supposed to beat, while struggling to take care of business against the better teams this season.
Unbeaten LSU has looked fantastic this season, but the Nittany Lions blew opportunities to upset them in late November, falling in overtime. They’ve played two of the best Big Ten teams in their first two conference games and lost by double digits in both outings.
When you’re debating between Wagner and Oregon State as your best win come mid-December, you either haven’t played a challenging schedule or you haven’t taken care of business. Penn State doesn’t rate horribly in the efficiency metrics, sitting top 100 on both offense and defense, but have had some rough showings on both sides of the ball, with that slaughter at the hands of the Minutemen a clear black eye on the season. They still have a few more chances for a tune-up before getting their hands on some more winnable Big Ten games come January.