Well, folks. If it wasn’t over before Saturday, it’s certainly over now.

What was once a season filled with national championship aspirations, potential major award winners, and rising draft stocks has quickly plummeted.

The former No. 2 team in the nation is now 0-3 in Big Ten play and 3-3 overall after three-straight losses to Oregon, UCLA, and, most recently, Northwestern. Penn State fell to the Wildcats 22-21 on Saturday evening.

Penn State has lost one of its starting linebackers in Tony Rojas and now its starting quarterback, Drew Allar, in back-to-back weeks.

There’s not a lot to be looking forward to for the Nittany Lions at the moment, but some are looking amongst themselves for personal growth opportunities from this season’s adversity.

“I mean, still got multiple games, still gonna win, and it’s pride at this point. Got to go out there every week with something to prove for the team, but for yourself, mostly,” Dennis-Sutton said postgame.

The defensive end has not been as dominant as he put on display in the season opener against Nevada. In August, Dennis-Sutton put up two forced fumbles, a sack, five tackles, and a defended pass. The only real difference-making stat that has come from the last three games has been the two blocked punts against UCLA and Northwestern.

Dennis-Sutton’s teammate Zane Durant had arguably his best game this season against the Wildcats. The senior defensive tackle produced a season-high eight tackles and a sack Saturday night. Although the loss all but cuts out the Nittany Lions’ chances of going to the College Football Playoffs, Durant is still playing for those around him.

“My brothers. My teammates. My coaches,” Durant said postgame.

On the offensive side of the ball, there’s not a lot to talk about in terms of optimism. The Nittany Lions found out after the game that their starting quarterback, and once a first-round prospect for the NFL draft, would be out for the remainder of the season.

Before being carted to the locker room, Allar was having one of his worst days this season as a passer, throwing for 137 yards and an interception on 20 attempts. Now, the untested Ethan Grunkemeyer will look to right the ship.

Offensive lineman TJ Shanahan, one of the many transfers who came in the offseason to help bolster the offense, is sticking with the same mindset that has been instilled by Franklin all season: Going 1-0.

“I know we had a lot of expectations coming into the season, but I feel like the biggest thing is just focusing on our next opponent and just being 1-0. It sucks that we have three losses on our schedule, but just do everything in our power to go 1-0 each week,” Shanahan said. “I would just say winning out, run the table. It’s all we can do. There’s nothing else we can do about the past, so just focus on going 1-0 each week, every week.”

Transfer wide receiver Devonte Ross had the best day of any wide receiver on the field Saturday, going for 115 yards on seven catches, including the 67-yard catch that put Penn State in scoring position late in the fourth quarter. To put his performance in perspective, Ross had more catches than the rest of the team combined and 95 more yards.

“Honestly, I’m happy to be here at Penn State. I made the decision to come here because of the people, the tradition this program has, so regardless of any outcome, I’m glad with my decision to even be here, I love it here,” Ross said.

Penn State isn’t going to the College Football Playoffs. If the program is lucky, the Nittany Lions could be looking at a bottom-tier bowl game. However, in the grand scheme of things, its players are maintaining a present state of mind and focusing on the next day rather than the disappointment this season has become.

“It’s definitely not a situation we want to be in. All I can do is focus on tomorrow and just getting better,” Ross said.