So, this is what playing Penn State football looks like. It’s something Nittany Lions faithful have been saying to themselves over the past two weeks. Penn State has been playing physical, it’s been running the football and it’s been getting after the quarterback.

The Nittany Lions (5-6) looked good again last week in a 37-10 win over Nebraska. They’re now just one win away from being bowl eligible and interim head coach Terry Smith said that they will accept a bowl bid.

Kaytron Allen was tremendous yet again. He rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns against the Huskers. With his big day on the ground, Allen surpassed Evan Royster and is now Penn State’s career rushing yards leader with 3,954 rushing yards. Allen needs just 46 yards to become the 23rd Big Ten player to eclipse 4,000 rushing yards.

Allen’s backfield mate Nick Singleton had 95 yards of total offense and two touchdowns against Nebraska. He is now tied with Saquon Barkley for the career rushing touchdowns mark and total touchdowns record (43 rush, 53 total).

Redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer has also started to settle in nicely after replacing Drew Allar, who was injured at the end of the Northwestern game. Grunkemeyer was very efficient last week, going 11-of-12 for 181 yards and a touchdown. He became the first PSU quarterback to register a complete 90 percent of his passes with 10 or more attempts since the legendary Todd Blackledge did so in 1981 against Syracuse.

What I liked about his performance was that “Grunk” was throwing the ball down the field. Eight of his completions went for first downs and five of them went for 20-plus yards on the day. On the season, Grunkemeyer has thrown for 870 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions.

The Penn State offense will have an opportunity to put some points on the board as they travel to take on a struggling Rutgers defense this afternoon (3:30 ET, BTN). The Scarlet Knights rank 117th in the country in total defense, allowing 425.9 yards per game, and they rank 207th in the country in rushing defense, giving up 201.7 rushing yards per game.

Rutgers has also been giving up a ton of points, ranking 114th in the country, giving up 31.1 points per game.

This is a game where you should see a steady dose of Allen and Singleton. Allen ranks second in the Big Ten with 1,077 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Singleton has been able to find the end zone a bunch this season as well with 11 rushing scores.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Nittany Lions will need to put pressure on Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. Kaliakmanis has had a good season, throwing for 2,786 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His top target has been KJ Duff, who has hauled in 55 catches for 957 yards and six touchdowns. If Kaliakmanis has time to throw the football, he can make you pay, so getting him off schedule will need to be priority No. 1 for the Penn State defense. The Nittany Lions’ passing defense has been pretty good this season, ranking 17th in the country with them only giving up a little under 170 yards passing per game.

The Penn State defense has looked much better over the last two games, and it looks like the players have settled into defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ system. I think that is also the case because Knowles has done a better job of being aggressive and letting the pass rushers go after the quarterback a bit more.

The Nittany Lions’ defense has had eight sacks over the past two contests and is now up to 43rd in the country in sacks per game, averaging 2.3. Rutgers has struggled to protect the quarterback this season, as it gives up 3.2 sacks per game, which ranks 123rd in the nation.

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 13.5-point road favorite over Rutgers.

I think it’s going to be tough for Rutgers to stop the Penn State rushing attack on the day. I would expect Allen to have another big outing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Singleton had a big day as well. And with the Scarlet Knights struggles in protecting the passer, I think it could be a long day for their offense as well.

My pick is: Penn State 35, Rutgers 13.