Why Rutgers could be a trap game for Penn State

It's safe to say that when looking at Penn State's football schedule , you would be hard-pressed to find many challenging games. In fact, by avoiding last year's top three teams who boasted College Football Playoff appearances (Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon), you could say that the Nittany Lions have one of the easiest schedules in the Big Ten this year. Still, wins are earned on the field, not on paper. In order for Penn State to dream big, they have to take care of business no matter the opponent. Which is why CBS Sports' latest article proves very telling.

CBS Sports chose 18 potential trap games for all the Big Ten squads, and Penn State's may surprise some fans. According to the article , Rutgers could prove to be a tricky foe for the new-look Nittany Lions. Unlike last year, it's not the last game of the season, but it could still play out much like last year's game. In a matchup that saw both teams fighting for bowl eligibility, Penn State needed all of Kaytron Allen's 226 yards and a miraculous Amare Campbell to edge out a 40-36 thriller and ultimately secure a bowl berth.

This year, Penn State could be in a similar situation. While Rutgers could look a little different than last year's feisty squad, what happens before these two squads meet at Beaver Stadium matters a ton.

"Once the Nittany Lions get through  USC  and Michigan in October, their only marquee game the rest of the way comes at Washington on Nov. 7. The Nittany Lions should be heavy favorites throughout the closing stretch, but maintaining an edge against overmatched opponents is rarely automatic", Brad Crawford warns in his article .

Yeah, if the Nittany Lions take care of business in all three matchups, they could view the end of the season as smooth sailing. Still, both Michigan and Washington are road matchups, so coming back to a late-season homestand could be dangerous depending on the results. If the Blue and White don't pull out wins in either Ann Arbor or Seattle, all eyes will yet again be on a game against Rutgers to potentially salvage yet another lost season.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Why Rutgers could be a trap game for Penn State

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