Penn State did something it hadn’t done in six years against Washington Saturday.
For years, PSU has been criticized for not winning games it wasn’t “supposed to win.”
That criticism is valid, partly because it had been more than six years since Penn State beat a ranked opponent on the road, per Joel Haas of StateCollege.com.
PSU last won as a road underdog against Wisconsin in Sept. 2021. PSU had tried seven times to pull a road upset, and lost all seven.
Saturday in Seattle, Penn State ended that streak. Penn State got off to a hot start, leading 28-6 at the half, and held on for a 28-25 win.
Penn State Survives Washington for Biggest win of Matt Campbell Era
Washington came in favored by 2.5 points per FanDuel Sportsbook. Like PSU, Washington’s season has been rocky at times.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Each team was ranked in the top 20 of the preseason AP Poll, with PSU No. 18 and Washington No. 17. But PSU lost its first four Big Ten games, and Washington lost its first three. Washington responded with a pair of road wins over Purdue and Nebraska, and Penn State got its first conference win over Purdue on the last day of October.
Only one team could have kept the good vibes going on the first weekend of November, and that team was PSU.
Barring something crazy, this will be Penn State’s last chance to pull a road upset this season. PSU only has one road contest left, its regular season finale against Maryland (3-6, 1-5) Nov. 28 in College Park.
For now, PSU must focus on Minnesota.
Kickoff for that game will be at either 7 or 7:30 on a network to be determined from Beaver Stadium.
