Many old-school Penn State fans will just brush off its 29-26 overtime victory over Big Ten West opponent Minnesota last week. If that's the case, I have some advice for you, and that advice is don't.

Whether you like it or not, the Nittany Lions' win over a then 3-0 Minnesota team was a big victory for this program. I mentioned in last week's column that PSU is currently not a Top-25 program, and the numbers don't lie with back-to-back 7-6 seasons.Wins don't come as easy as they used to in Happy Valley, and for Penn State to bounce back after a 49-10 loss to Michigan with a win over a solid opponent shows me that things maybe aren't as bad as the rest of Nittany Nation wants people to believe.Penn State has the opportunity to take the momentum gained from its win over the Gophers into today's contest against an undefeated Maryland team (Noon ET, BTN). It's homecoming in State College this weekend and there is no better opponent for the Nittany Lions to face considering the Terrapins are their biggest rival right now.This is the third weekend in a row where Penn State will be facing an undefeated team. However, out of those three teams (Michigan and Minnesota the other two), the Terrapins are the least battle-tested.The Terps have wins over Howard, Florida International, Central Florida, and Purdue. Those four teams have a combined record of 6-12, and they certainly haven't played in an atmosphere like Beaver Stadium.Penn State's front four will have to showcase the same bend-but-don't-break mentality that they displayed against the tough Minnesota rushing attack last week. Maryland is going to get its yards rushing the football and it would be foolish to think otherwise. The Nittany Lions haven't performed great against good running teams. They're currently giving up 216 yards per game on the ground.The Terps are averaging 300 rushing yards per game, with Ty Johnson leading the way with 333 yards (11.9 yards-per-carry) and three touchdowns. From there, Maryland has four other guys who have rushed for over 100 yards in Lorenzo Harris (286), Trey Edmunds (150), Kenneth Goins Jr. (109), and quarterback Perry Hills (104), each of whom can hurt Penn State.Penn State gave up a healthy 228 yards rushing to Minnesota last week. The difference, though, was that the Nittany Lions buttoned up in the red zone, came up with timely sacks, and even created a turnover (a Jordan Smith interception) in the red zone. It was a defense that made the plays to win the game, and that's exactly what they'll have to do this week if they want to come away with a victory."Maryland has a wide-open, offensive attack. Spread-style offense. They are running the ball," said Penn State head coach James Franklin. "They are seventh in the country in rushing. Rotate a bunch of backs in there. They do a nice job of that."I might be beating a dead drum here, but the Nittany Lions defense will have its challenges not only up front, but also in the linebacker unit. Once again this week, Penn State will be without its three starting linebackers. As a result, Manny Bowen, Brandon Smith, and Cam Brown will get the nods at linebacker, and all three did a pretty solid job a week ago.Some fans might not know that Smith was knocked out of the game late in the fourth quarter last week, and that his replacement, Jake Cooper, also left due to injury. They moved Manny Bowen over to middle linebacker, a position he's never played at Penn State. Every week it seems like a whack-a-mole scenario for the Nittany Lions' linebackers, and defensive coordinator Brent Pry just has to plug and play and hope for the best."I do want to give Manny, as well as our defense, credit, and Brent Pry credit; the adversity that those guys have faced this year is unreal," said Franklin. "Seven linebackers we have lost for significant time this year. We were hopeful that we were going to have Jason Cabinda back this week."So I'm really, really proud. I'm really proud of Brent. I'm really proud of the defense. Manny is doing a nice job. He has great instincts, but needs to learn how to play Mike linebacker and command the defense."You look at Cam Brown, a true freshman, who is doing a really nice job for us. Koa [Farmer] making the change to linebacker full-time. Those guys have done a nice job for us. We expect to get Brandon Smith back this week. That will help us."Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley has been fun to watch, and is leading the Big Ten in passing yards. It's been easy to see that defenses are basically daring the sophomore signal-caller to throw the pill, and that's exactly what he's been doing.However, the Nittany Lions rushing attack has been subpar at best, averaging just 108 yards on the ground. A lot of that could be due to the offensive line not giving vaunted sophomore running back Saquon Barkley holes to run through. Barkley is getting hit a lot in the backfield before he can even get to the line of scrimmage. Another big reason for their struggles is that teams are just stacking the box with eight, and sometimes nine players. Opposing coaches know that Barkley can change a game with just a little seam, as he did last week when he brought Penn State a victory in overtime with a vicious cut back that ended with a 25-yard touchdown run.I think today is the day that Penn State and its rushing offense gets going. In fact, I predict close to 500 yards on the offensive side of the ball for the Nittany Lions.Momentum is a big thing and I believe last week's victory has changed the story for this year's Penn State squad. That's how quickly it all can change in college football, and I think with all the adversity this team faced after such a scrutinized loss to Michigan, that last week's win has energized the program.Las Vegas has Minnesota as a 1.5-point favorite.I like the Penn State defense to battle and the offense to put up big numbers, but it's still close as the last two games between these two have been decided by one point.My pick is Penn State 38, Maryland 31.