I'm going to take the James Franklin route this week and not talk about the ridiculous mistakes the Big Ten referees made last week in the Penn State vs. Ohio State game. Anybody who knows anything about the game of football knows how dreadful those missed calls were, so there's no use getting into it. It's pretty obvious that the Big Ten wanted a Michigan State vs. Ohio State showdown and an Ohio State loss to Penn State would've screwed that all up.

Instead, this week I think it's time for the Penn State defense to get the credit it deserves. Throughout the country you hear many story lines, but I feel one story that just isn't being told is the success, the grit, and the heart of the Nittany Lions defensive unit. Let's be honest, Penn State is pretty much shorthanded everywhere. They have 71 scholarship players this season and that doesn't even take into account the injuries sustained this season (Ryan Keiser, Ben Kline, Zach Zwinak, Adam Breneman - out for season).Simply put, the Penn State defense has been doing a remarkable job in 2014. Even with the depth issues they've managed to rank highly in multiple categories nationally. The Nittany Lions "D" ranks third in the nation in rushing defense (83.4 yards per game), seventh in total defense (284.7 yards per game), and ninth in scoring defense (17.4 points per game). Yards don't come easy against the Nittany Lions on Saturdays and I think it's about time for people to take notice.Speaking of people taking notice, finally Mike Hull got some recognition this week for his exceptional 2014 campaign. Hull was added to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, an honor presented annually to the nation's defensive Player of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club. Three other Nittany Lions have won the Chuck Bednarik Award four times - LaVar Arrington in 1999, Paul Posluszny in 2005 and 2006, and Dan Connor in 2007.Hull leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally in total tackles per game (83, 11.9 avg.). He leads the conference and is ninth nationally in solo stops per outing (47, 6.7 avg.). He has made 83 tackles (47 solo), with seven tackles for a loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, one interception, and two pass break-ups."Mike Hull is as good as I've ever been around," said Franklin. "I don't know if I could find something that I would say in terms of his preparation and his demeanor that I would want more from. It's how he is in meetings or how he is out at practice; his focus, his attention to detail, his work-ethic, how coachable he is. From day one, he's embraced everything we've asked him to do as a teammate, as a leader, in the defensive scheme, in the defensive techniques."As far as the offense goes, it's obvious it's still a work in progress. When left tackle Donovan Smith went down last week and didn't return the PSU offensive line was shuffled around a lot. So much in fact that center Angelo Mangiro played in three different spots on the offensive line during the game. That goes to show you the lack of depth and why the PSU "O-line" has struggled this season. They just have to try and continue to get better each week.Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg didn't have great numbers once again this week, throwing for 224 yards on 31-of-49 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was bogus as you all know, but the other was on a roll out to the right side of the field. Hackenberg had a man open, but just under threw the football and it was intercepted.The problem is, the offensive line can't give Hackenberg enough time to throw the ball downfield. That's why you see so many wide receiver screens, which are basically like running plays. It gets the ball out of Hackenberg's arm quickly and the risk is low. So, until the offensive line improves it will be tough to see Hackenberg's best week in and week out.Up this week for Penn State is the Maryland Terrapins (NOON ET, ESPN 2). The Nittany Lions will play host to the Terrapins (5-3, 2-2 BIG 10) for the first time since 1993. Penn State (4-3, 1-3 BIG 10) owns a 35-1-1 record against Maryland and will be looking to end a three game losing streak this week.In order to pick up a much needed "W" this afternoon the Nittany Lions must contain veteran dual-threat quarterback C.J. Brown. Brown has thrown for 1,316 yards, with eight touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 376 yards and five touchdowns. Penn State did a nice job against Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett last week and they need to bring that same type of tenacity to the table this week.The PSU secondary will certainly have their hands full this week as well, with wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs is one of the more gifted athletes in the country and has caught 46 balls for 601 yards and five touchdowns. He's extremely fast and very allusive. He's a definite game changer and he can really sway the momentum of the ball game if he gets going.Defensively, Maryland is giving up 29.2 points per game and 458 total yards per game. The opportunity will be there for the Penn State offense to get back on track this week, but once again it all depends on the play of the offensive line. You could almost bet the farm that the Terps will bring pressure because Penn State has shown that they can't handle it.I said last week that it was important for Penn State to get off to a good start and if they didn't then it would be a blowout. Shows how much I know, as they spotted Ohio State 17 points and then came back, but I think the "white out" atmosphere had a lot to do with that. This week, once again I think PSU needs to get off to a good start offensively with a sustained balanced drive that ends in a touchdown. I think if Hackenberg gains confidence early then Penn State become a very dangerous football team.Las Vegas has Penn State as 3.5 point favorite. My pick is Penn State 27, Maryland 13.