Penn St. on wrong side of upside- down Big Ten

College football, at least in the Big Ten, is living in Bizarro World this year.

What’s up is down, and what’s down is up in the year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Indiana, which had struggled for much of the last 25 years, was ranked in the top 10 and gave unbeaten Ohio State its stiff est test. Northwestern leads the Big Ten West a year after going 1- 8 in conference play, 3- 9 overall.

Penn State and Michigan, two of the sport’s biggest brand names, are the two most disappointing teams in the conference. Welcome to 2020. “This year is going to have an asterisk next to it,” said Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, the dean of Big Ten coaches. “We are all competing. We are all playing pretty much by the same rules, but as we know, region to region, things are diff erent right now. With the virus, you really don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.

“It has certainly been the most unusual season probably for any of us to be involved in.”

Penn State and coach James Franklin are living through a nightmare. The Associated Press said the Nittany Lions are the first team ranked in the preseason top 10 to be 0- 5, after a 41- 21 loss to Iowa.

It’s the worst start for Penn State since it began playing football in 1887.

Making matters even worse, preseason AllAmerican tight end Pat Freiermuth will undergo season- ending surgery on an undisclosed injury that he suffered against Ohio State last month.

The Lions are without three of their best players from last season: Freiermuth, running back Journey Brown, who was forced to retire because of a heart condition; and linebacker Micah Parsons, who opted out of the season in August.

It also appears they’re down to their fourth and fifth running backs, freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee, after Devyn Ford was knocked out of Saturday’s game against the Hawkeyes in the first quarter. He joins Brown and Noah Cain, out with a season- ending leg injury, on the sideline.

Those who are playing aren’t doing it well.

The pass defense has been porous, especially in the middle of the field. The defense has allowed at least 30 points in six consecutive games, the first that’s happened in school history.

On offense, the line has been spotty, at best, even with four returning starters. Penn State ranks ninth in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 3.4 yards a carry and 139.0 a game. The Lions have allowed 20 sacks, most in the conference.

“We knew running the ball against this team ( Iowa) was going to be difficult,” Franklin said. “It always is. ... We’ve got to be able to run the ball when everybody knows you’re going to run the ball.”

Franklin was referring to two series in the second quarter when Penn State couldn’t gain a first down after having thirdand2 at the Iowa 39 and third- and- 1 at the 50.

The quarterback position has been a mess. Sean Clifford and Will Levis have been responsible for all of Penn State’s 13 turnovers. They’ve led to 51 points for opponents, including 24 by the Hawkeyes on four turnovers.

“The turnovers, they kill you,” wide receiver Jahan Dotson said. “At that point, you’re beating yourself.”

The Lions’ fall from the last four seasons, when they went 4211, has been shocking. Franklin and his staff, including four new assistants, have faced more challenges than most, but they have not done their jobs well so far. Penn State has been outscored 117- 33 in the first half.

“We’re without a number of guys,” Franklin said, “but we’ve got to put the guys we put on the field in a position to be successful and find a way fundamentally to help them.”

With four games left, starting Saturday at Michigan, Franklin is trying to keep the players together and to prevent them from becoming demoralized.

“We’re being challenged right now,” he said. “We’ve had to learn how to handle success and now we have to learn how to handle adversity.”

What it will take for Penn State to snap out of its funk and get a win remains to be seen. It might not happen until 2021 when the Lions, and the world, hope to return to normal.

“It’s just been very different, very unusual,” Ferentz said. “I just think that casts a shadow over this whole season quite frankly. ... There’s just a lot of strange things going on this year.”

Penn State and James Franklin understand only too well.