For the second year in a row, Penn State has lost back-to-back games to Ohio State and Michigan State. In 2017, the sequence cost the Lions a shot at the College Football Playoff, but it didn’t snowball into a longer losing streak. In fact, James Franklin’s squad won every game for the rest of a campaign that ended in a Fiesta Bowl championship.
This season, many fans aren’t optimistic that there will be a similar rebound. Maybe it’s because both losses came at home in 2018, or maybe it’s because this year’s version of Michigan State looked very beatable, but it’s hard to find someone who thinks that the Lions will pick themselves up and roll into a New Year’s Six bowl again.