Is Penn State a legitimate contender? We're about to find out

As a kid, PJ Mustipher would wake up at 8 or 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings in the fall to watch ESPN. The College GameDay crew would visit a different college campus every week, and that fascinated him.

As a sophomore defensive tackle at Penn State, he's a little busy on Saturdays now. But he can appreciate what it means to see the show he grew up watching come to State College for the third consecutive year.

"It does resonate with me because this is why I came here," Mustipher told reporters this week. "I came to play in the big games. I came to play in an environment that people want to come to, such as College GameDay. They love it here."

College GameDay often sets up at the site of what it believes to be the best game in the country that weekend. Penn State being featured for three straight years is a sign that head coach James Franklin's program is sustaining national relevance.

The question on Saturday: Can this Penn State team go one step further?

The Nittany Lions are 6-0 and ranked No. 7 entering Saturday's clash with No. 16 Michigan (5-1). It's the fourth consecutive season Franklin's squad has climbed into the top 10 of the AP Top 25. The run includes one Big Ten title (2016), but the team has yet to earn a College Football Playoff berth during that stretch.

Few teams have been as impressive as the Nittany Lions over the first half of 2019. Penn State has won its games by an average of 33.8 points, and its defense ranks at or near the top of most statistical categories. Last week, the Nittany Lions defeated a ranked team (Iowa) for the first time this season. But Michigan provides an even greater barometer.

Is Penn State a playoff contender in 2019? We're about to find out.

It starts with defense

Mustipher, a 6-foot-4, 311-lbs tackle from Owings Mills, Maryland, has recorded 18 tackles this season, and three for a loss. Despite being a four-star recruit and top-100 player in his class, he hasn't started a game.

And that's OK. Penn State is exerting its defensive dominance this season through depth most coordinators can only dream about, with 23 players in on a tackle for a loss, while 14 have contributed to a sack.

"We had more competition at more positions than we've ever had," defensive coordinator Brent Pry said on a conference call with reporters Thursday.

Penn State's defense combines big names - defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (8.5 tackles for a loss) and linebacker Micah Parsons (six tackles for a loss) - with a deep roster of capable players rotating into the game, allowing the unit to stay fresh. So far, the formula has prevented any lapses.

Through six games, Buffalo holds the distinction of scoring the most points on Penn State this season: 13, with 10 coming in the first half. The Bulls took a 10-7 lead into the locker room, the only time this season Penn State has trailed in the second half. The Nittany Lions held Buffalo to 159 yards on 44 plays (3.6 yards per play) over the final two quarters.

"As the game goes on … you definitely start to see the offensive line wearing down, and we're just continuing to rotate, and we're so fresh because we have so many guys that can rotate and that can go in there and do the job," Mustipher said.

The numbers tell the tale:

• Penn State ranks third nationally in yards allowed per play, behind only the other two undefeated Big Ten teams (Wisconsin and Ohio State).

• Penn State also ranks second and third, respectively, in sacks and tackles for a loss.

• The Nittany Lions are No. 1 in yards allowed per carry after holding opponents to a minuscule 1.6 yards per touch.

Penn State ranks fourth in points allowed per drive, too, which attempts to compare defenses that see different numbers of plays and drives. The Nittany Lions also rank second while giving up just 8.2 points per game, which is the most important statistic.

However, Penn State hasn't faced a top-50 offense (in yards per play) this season. Michigan, which ranks 81st, won't offer that, but the Wolverines' playmakers will be more talented than any the Nittany Lions have faced this season.

Ahead of schedule?

The most fascinating aspect of Penn State's rise in 2019 is that on the surface, it looked like a transition season was coming.

The Nittany Lions went 31-9 over the last three campaigns, playing in a Rose Bowl and winning a Fiesta Bowl. They peaked as high as No. 2 in the country in 2017 before a one-point loss to Ohio State.

The offensive faces of their program during that successful run are all gone, including Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley, and Miles Sanders.

With an inexperienced quarterback in Sean Clifford and the loss of 10 starters, Penn State figured to be good, but perhaps not great this season. In the preseason, the Big Ten East discussion centered around Ohio State and Michigan.

But Clifford has been solid, tossing 13 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. He enters this week looking to bounce back after throwing for a season-low 117 yards in the 17-12 win over Iowa.

Around him, playmakers have emerged. Junior receiver KJ Hamler (26 catches, 455 yards) is a budding star.

Franklin is now in his sixth season, and the program is stable again and in the top 10, with College GameDay coming to town to witness 100,000-plus fans "white out" Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

Two years ago, when College GameDay came to Penn State for the first time since 2009, the Nittany Lions bludgeoned Michigan 42-13. The victory moved them to 7-0, as one would on Saturday. But back-to-back losses followed that triumph.

Last season, a 4-0 Penn State team hosted then-No. 4 Ohio State. The Buckeyes survived 27-26, handing Franklin's team the first of four losses.

Now eight years beyond the Joe Paterno era, the next step into national playoff contention will require more than just a win on Saturday. But coming out on top against Michigan would be another positive sign for a program that won the national championship twice in the 1980s.

"I am very proud," Franklin said this week. "I'm very proud of what we've been able to accomplish in a rather short period of time under very, very difficult circumstances. There's been a lot of people that have been a part of that, but like I've said … the thing we can't do is take a deep breath and feel like we're back. The programs that we're competing with, they haven't taken a deep breath or pushed the pause button in 50 years."