If I had written this yesterday, as I intended, it would have read very differently. Ranked third in the country, against an Ohio State team that looked vulnerable a week ago against Nebraska (who, by the way, just lost to UCLA), Penn State found itself in position to finally break through their glass ceiling.

As the seconds ticked away and the Buckeyes came on first down after first down to run out the clock, the feeling dawned. Penn State would once again fall just short of beating their benchmark in the Big Ten. They had plenty of chances, but not being able to score an offensive touchdown since 2022 once again proved to be too much.

And then the rest of college football day happened. Clemson lost. Texas A&M not only lost, they were embarrassed. Pitt’s undefeated season is over. Georgia needed all its luck to put away a Florida team that might be without a head coach by the end of the season. The Big 12 could very well be a one-bid league this season, thanks to losses at Iowa State and Kansas State.

What’s the point of all that? It’s simple: If the worst thing that happens to us as Penn State fans is that we lose again to Ohio State, still make the playoffs and possibly get a home game, then we’re doing pretty well.

Let’s go back to that Georgia team for a moment. They won back-to-back national titles. They would get the gold standard now that Nick Saban is retired. But with Kalen DeBoer at the helm, Georgia entered Tuscaloosa ready to exorcise their demons. A near-complete comeback later, and fans are left wondering if it was a Nick Saban problem or an Alabama problem. Well, maybe James Franklin has a problem with Ohio State, just like Kirby Smart, the de facto best coach in the country, has one with Alabama.

It’s not about making the loss less painful. It really stings. Instead, the goal is to put everything into perspective. One: it could always be worse. It could be that we are already out of the running for the 12-team playoffs, which is not the case. Two, we could find ourselves in Georgia territory, a team that beats pretty much everyone else but can’t catch just their white whale.

We’re not taking anything for granted, but with a win in the next four games, the Lions are all but assured of a spot in the play-offs. At that point it’s a new season. What the Nittany Lions do from there will be what it is, but at least they have a chance now.

Maybe this is what people meant when they said the 12-team playoffs would make the season not matter anymore. I just can’t bring myself to be too disappointed about the loss. Yes, it’s annoying to face the same hurdle over and over and not manage to overcome it. Yet I find myself sitting here, looking at what lies ahead, and still excited that Penn State still has something substantial to play for, that Ohio State didn’t end the Nittany Lions’ season when they defeated them in the fourth place stopped, that, with enough luck, they might still be alive for a conference title. And, most importantly, that this loss does not disqualify them from the biggest prize of all.

This time last year I posted about perspective, but from a place of desperation, knowing that every remaining game on the schedule was just a formality. These days, the perspective is about how every remaining game has meaning because the Nittany Lions aren’t out of it yet.