It’s only been a few days since Penn State’s frustrating and disappointing loss to Ohio State. The Nittany Lions, previously unbeaten and hoping to topple the Buckeyes in a highly-anticipated top-10 matchup, came up painfully short yet again in a series full of heartbreak.

That pain doesn’t go away with a snap of the finger. Even with another game on the horizon — and even with Penn State’s trademark 1-0 mentality — these players are human. It’s understandably difficult for them to put such a missed opportunity in the rearview mirror.

“It’s a little early to say (everyone has) moved forward or put it behind them completely,” offensive tackle Caedan Wallace said Monday morning. “But I think people are working their way out of being sad about the loss. And with the work week starting, people are starting to get more focused on the opponent to come and moving forward over time.”

It’s probably a blessing that Penn State isn’t idle this week. The Nittany Lions have to recenter themselves with Indiana visiting on Saturday, followed by a trip to Maryland. Then, they have an opportunity to knock off Michigan, the two-time defending Big Ten champs, on Nov. 11.

Wallace said there’s “a long season ahead of us,” and that’s true. There are five regular season games left on the schedule. There’s a chance the Nittany Lions run the table, things break their way with a potential Big Ten East tiebreaker, and they play for a conference title.

ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Penn State a 36.1% chance to go undefeated down the stretch and a 6.4% chance to win the Big Ten East. Not likely, but not out of the question.

In order for the Nittany Lions to do that, they need luck on their side. But they also have to improve. That process started on Sunday when players and coaches met at the Lasch Building to go over the Ohio State tape and hit the practice field.

Captain and linebacker Dom DeLuca said the team approached Sunday “with a full head of steam … trying to do our best to get back rolling on a winning streak.” Wallace added that watching the film against the Buckeyes, one thing in particular stuck out.

“I’ve learned how resilient we are,” the fifth-year senior said. “We never gave up. We fought to the last play. That’s always a positive.”

Wallace said everyone in the program has taken ownership of the loss. We saw quarterback Drew Allar and a few teammates do that on Saturday afternoon, speaking to reporters after the 20-12 defeat in Columbus.

“Everyone’s being accountable for what happened in the game,” Wallace said. “No one’s trying to point fingers and blame. I would say everyone’s being a man about it and taking responsibility for their part in what happened on Saturday and working to move forward.”

“It didn’t go the way we planned,” DeLuca added. “But there’s always room for improvement. That’s what we’re gonna do, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

In the past, we’ve seen Penn State teams let one deflating loss snowball into another. In 2017, Penn State followed up a narrow defeat at Ohio State with a narrow loss at Michigan State a week later. In 2018, it happened again with an Ohio State-Michigan State back-to-back.

It’s imperative that Penn State doesn’t succumb to the same fate against Indiana or Maryland before what promises to be a top-10 matchup with Michigan.

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