Over the last two seasons, Penn State football has been near elite, with a 21-5 record. Led by head coach James Franklin for the past decade, the Nittany Lions have been at or near the top of the Big Ten more often than not. Former Penn State star Micah Parsons also carries those high expectations and discussed his alma mater's struggles against the Bowling Green Falcons in Week 2 during his The Edge podcast.

“We struck out, we finished, and we got the win. Understanding that winning at any level is very, very hard. I remember my first game at Penn State. We almost lost to App State. I didn’t even know who App State was, where it was, or who they were, but they came in and played a terrific game. Sometimes, some teams game plan and that’s their Super Bowl. Bowling Green played Penn State like that’s their Super Bowl. And Bowling Green is a really good team; it’s a great university; I know who Bowling Green was, but it’s Penn State.”

The Nittany Lions opened the game as 34.5-point favorites over the Falcons. At one point, Penn State was trailing BGSU 17-7 in the second quarter. HC James Franklin spoke to the media after the game and expressed respect for Bowling Green, as per the Associated Press.

“The last three years (Bowling Green) beat Minnesota, they beat Georgia Tech, Michigan last year was 14-6 at the half, 32 seniors,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “They played their tails off. The moment wasn’t too big for them.”

Despite these struggles, Penn State football is still ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 for Week 3. The Nittany Lions have a few weeks to get right with no ranked opponents until they travel to Los Angeles to face the No. 11 USC Trojans on October 12. They also get this week off, which gives Penn State football plenty of time to look in the mirror before their next matchup against the Kent State Golden Flashes at home.

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Penn State football's place in a reorganized Big Ten conference

There are now 18 teams in the Big Ten. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington join the existing 14 schools. Rutgers and Maryland joined in 2014 and Nebraska arrived in 2011. The Nittany Lions were the most recent Big Ten addition in 1990 before the rapid expansion over the last 15 years.

Penn State football, ranked eighth, is the second-best Big Ten team in the Week 3 AP Top 25. From the conference, Ohio State is on top at No. 3 and Oregon (No. 9), USC (No. 11), Michigan (No. 17) and Nebraska (No. 23) rounding out the rest of the poll.

The Nittany Lions begin conference play on September 28 when they host the Illinois Fighting Illini.