Penn State defensive lineman PJ Mustipher said he will be watching and waiting for one thing, exclusively, from his former teammates next season.
He wants to see them do what he never could in five years.
He believes his Nittany Lions are closer than ever to earning their first college football playoff bid. No matter what they do in the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl against Utah.
“That’s what I’m excited for. Because I think they have the talent, they have the work ethic, they have everything in line to do that,” he said. “They just got to go into the offseason and block out all the noise and put their heads down and work.
“There’s no magic formula, there’s no secret sauce to (win) a national championship, to go to a college playoff. It comes from day-in and day-out working. It doesn’t matter what anybody says about (this) team. We proved this year, that doesn’t matter. We were unranked, nobody was really talking about us, and now we’re in the Rose Bowl.”
But to get from the Rose Bowl to the four-team playoff?
The Nittany Lions have been in this tedious spot before. Go back to 2016, their best shot out of a handful of very good ones.
They beat Ohio State that fall, won the Big Ten Championship − and still were one spot away, at No. 5. The next season, the playoffs eluded them because of a one-point defeat at Ohio State and a last-play loss at Michigan State.
PSU’s York County quarterback:He’s Penn State’s ‘other’ quarterback: How Beau Pribula steps up before the Rose Bowl
Another one-point loss to Ohio State wrecked a promising start in 2018. A close, frustrating defeat at Minnesota ruined a 7-0 start and kept them out in 2019.
This year? Hold onto a lead in the final nine minutes against Ohio State and they may have broken through. Instead, the Buckeyes slipped in again.
Penn State’s promise and expectations to qualify will be at their greatest, perhaps, next fall. Their best collection of young, trending stars are fueling that hype already, from running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, to linebacker Abdul Carter to offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, who could have left for a huge NFL payout but will return. Quarterback phenom Drew Allar is supposed to bring it all together.
Though the playoffs are expanding to 12 teams in 2024, the top few teams will have a significant advantage with byes and home field advantage.
Will Penn State finally be able to push through?
One positive sign: The Lions’ offense did make significant improvement in fixing their long-standing offensive line issues. Because of that, their running game enjoyed a leap in production, which only figures to grow.
“What we need to do is make sure we’re excuting better and we’re coaching better. I think all those things add up. I don’t think it’s one thing, necessarily,” said offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. “That’s a very complex question that a lot of things factor into it.
“I think we need to continue to recruit at a championship level. It starts with that. But, at the end of the day, we’ve got to take care of the ball and finish. I think our guys our hungry …”
Can PSU conquer Ohio State, Michigan?
Making the playoff means beating Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan, at least one of them each season. The Lions lost to both the past two years − during the Wolverines’ first two playoff runs.
How do you finally make the playoffs?
“It feels like a broad question, that there’s this grandiose thing we have to do,” said defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. “And I don’t think the players in our locker room see it that way. … I think we learned a lot from both of those (losses this season).”
Diaz points to Michigan and where the program was when it escaped Beaver Stadium with a late, hard-fought victory in 2021. He believes the teams were on even ground in those moments, like the game and scored showed.
The difference, he said, came soon after. “Their belief in beating Ohio State in Ann Arbor and how they kicked on from that. Often times, that’s what it takes. It may just take a moment, where a thing happens in the course of a game that creates that belief. Belief is a very, very powerful thing. I think our players see that.
“I don’t think they see that proverbial gap is that big.”
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on Twitter @YDRPennState.
