Don’t get too sad, folks, but it’s Penn State football’s second bye week of the season.

The Nittany Lions’ second bye week came off a 33-30 overtime win on the road against USC. James Franklin’s squad is riding the momentum into the weekend off before traveling to Wisconsin on Saturday, October 26.

Despite the blue and white not playing this weekend, implications on Penn State football’s season are still abundant. There are plenty of teams to root for and against in hopes of bettering the Nittany Lions’ chances of getting to the postseason.

Who To Root For

Illinois squares off with Michigan at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in one of this week’s ranked matchups. The Fighting Illini’s only loss came from Penn State back in September and a win over the Wolverines would help boost the Nittany Lions’ resume. The blue and white don’t play the defending national champions this season, so a loss wouldn’t affect them.

The media and fans of other teams are already trying to downplay the blue and white’s win over USC last weekend. It benefits Penn State greatly if the Trojans can win out the rest of the way. That starts this weekend against Maryland.

Elsewhere in the country, West Virginia is set to battle No. 17 Kansas State. It’s pretty simple here, the more the Mountaineers win, the better Penn State’s resume looks. If the Nittany Lions end up 11-1 or even 10-2, wins on the road to West Virginia and USC will be strong talking points.

Who To Root Against

On Friday evening, Purdue hosts No. 2 Oregon for some end-of-the-work-week action. A loss for the Ducks would allow Penn State to jump the West Coast team in the rankings. More importantly, the Nittany Lions don’t get a chance to beat Oregon this season, so a loss to the Boilermakers helps Penn State’s chances at ending up in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the Big Ten Championship in December.

Every Nittany Lion fan should be rooting against Indiana this Saturday. The ranked Hoosiers will play host to Nebraska. Who would have thought that would happen? Penn State doesn’t have the opportunity to play Tom Allen’s former team this year, and there’s an outside chance it finishes at 11-1. Penn State would much prefer if Indiana started stacking losses before November.

In the marquee game of the week, the Nittany Lion faithful should be rooting against Georgia in its matchup with Texas. The SEC will have multiple entries into the playoff this year, but a two-loss Georgia could be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday.

I root against Notre Dame every weekend. As an independent, the Fighting Irish can always play spoiler to the College Football Playoff for Nittany Lion fans. A second loss this season should all but eliminate Marcus Freeman’s group in 2024.

Editor’s Note: I also root against Notre Dame every weekend. You should, too.