Around this time last year, the College Football Playoff Committee announced an expansion of the playoffs from four to 12 teams. Penn State football, which had come agonizingly close to cracking the old format several times, was considered one of the programs that would benefit the most.

The Nittany Lions solidified their College Football Playoff hopes with one 44-7 win over Maryland at Beaver Stadium, but not only that. In a series of unusual events, James Franklin’s team travels to Indianapolis, Indiana next week to face Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game.

College football has been full of twists and turns in the 2024 season, perhaps more than ever before. Powerhouses across the country were vulnerable to disruptions that damaged or derailed playoff bids. The casualties include Alabama and Ole Miss, two teams on the outside that each suffered three losses, with at least one of those losses coming against unranked opponents. Ohio State, heavily favored over Michigan, lost at home to the Wolverines, sending Penn State to Indianapolis. The Buckeyes will make the playoffs, but their path to glory is suddenly much more difficult.

Despite all the chaos this season brought for many of college football’s stars, Penn State stayed the course and avoided any surprises. The Nittany Lions are one of six Power Four teams with fewer than two losses pending the outcome of several games tonight.

However, many would have thought Penn State would fall victim at least once, considering Franklin has occasionally lost in the past to teams it should have beaten. In fact, his team had close calls against Bowling Green, USC, Wisconsin and Minnesota this season. However, ways have been found to get through all four of these games.

“When you study college football, it’s hard to win consistently,” he said. “And the fact that our boys were able to win 11 times in the regular season this season makes me proud.”

Franklin preaches that every game is “1-0,” a phrase meant to emphasize focusing on the task at hand and nothing else. He and several players have made it a point to focus on what they can control and not pay attention to the outside world throughout the season.

Franklin has said multiple times that the Nittany Lions don’t discuss rankings. Smith Vilbert, for example, said two weeks ago that he doesn’t use his phone often. When asked about a then-scheduled playoff game against Georgia, former Bulldog AJ Harris was surprised that it was a possibility.

Penn State’s emphasis on focusing on what it can control is a big reason for its 11-1 rating. Franklin knew before the game that Michigan had toppled Ohio State, but he didn’t tell the team anything, although he suspected several players knew about it in order to keep them focused on Maryland.

“I didn’t say anything to the team. Actually, I did the opposite. I said, “Maryland, Maryland, Maryland, Maryland, Maryland, Maryland, Maryland, Maryland, Maryland,” because I think a lot of people were aware of that, and I was trying to keep us focused, and maybe that’s why for the game started the way the game started. But you have to control the things you can control, and the things outside of Beaver Stadium are not in our control,” he said.

Penn State has been prone to slow starts this season, and today was no exception. Nick Singleton fumbled on the first play of the game and the Terrapins scored a touchdown on their first drive. Their lead was only equalized in the second quarter.

Despite falling behind early, the Nittany Lions found a way to pull out a win, as they had done 10 times this season. Ultimately, they settled down, prevailed and won convincingly to earn a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, just as the coaching staff has repeatedly emphasized.

“The (coaching staff) puts an incredible amount of emphasis on it,” defensive lineman Dvon J-Thomas echoed. “In this wild, wild west that we call the college football playoff system, it is more important now than ever to control the things that are controllable and to keep a cool head and not talk too high or too low about anything, what’s going on around college football.” Because things can change in an instant and in a day, things change in an afternoon. In one afternoon we went from being in the Big Ten Championship to now being in the Big Ten Championship. Things can change now, so you just have to keep a cool head and focus on where your feet are.”