Last week, I wrote about the first bump in the road Penn State would face without standout wide receiver Koby Howard, after it was announced he would miss several weeks with an injury.

Well, that bump has now grown into a full-blown mountain.

After blowing a 17-0 lead at home to Wisconsin, tonight’s matchup on the road against a strong Northwestern team becomes an absolute must‑win. It’s a special Big Ten Friday night game (8 p.m. ET, FOX), and the Nittany Lions need a response.

For me, last week’s loss keeps circling back to one word: conservative. When you’re up 17-0 in the Big Ten, you can’t let teams hang around — you have to put them away. Penn State didn’t, and Wisconsin took full advantage, storming back to steal the game.

The Nittany Lions managed only three points in the second half, with their remaining possessions resulting in three punts, an interception, and the final desperate drive that stalled at the Wisconsin 33‑yard line.

Head coach Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser didn’t do quarterback Rocco Becht — or the offense as a whole — any favors. Becht struggled, but the play‑calling never allowed him to settle into a rhythm. The lack of execution and explosive plays made it impossible to put the Badgers away. Becht finished with just 114 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. The run game wasn’t much better, averaging only 3.3 yards per carry.

The one thing Coach Campbell emphasized in his weekly press conference Tuesday was that the effort and attitude from his players was not an issue in the game. He made clear that the issues they ran into last week are correctable, and that both the staff and the players can learn from those mistakes and improve — especially on the coaching side.

There’s been a lot of panic this week, so I’m going in the opposite direction: I’m predicting that Campbell, his staff, and the players will grow from the loss to Wisconsin and be better off for of it in the long run.

“I think from my end of it, the positive I take is this was not an attitude and effort issue. This is not, are kids playing hard? This is not, are kids laying it on the line and playing their tails off? I think a lot of these things are correctable issues — whether that’s coaching, schematics, or even details in the players’ execution that need to be better,” Campbell added.

Northwestern enters this matchup coming off a 29-23 loss to No. 6 Indiana, a game in which the Wildcats trailed just 22-20 with five minutes remaining.

The key matchup here will be Penn State’s defense against Michigan State transfer quarterback Aiden Chiles, who has been excellent this season. Against Indiana, he threw for 293 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and added a rushing score. Chiles has yet to throw an interception all year.

The Wildcats have struggled on the ground, ranking 95th nationally in rushing offense. If Penn State’s defense can pressure Chiles and get him off schedule, they should be able to limit Northwestern’s scoring opportunities.

On the offensive side, the Lions have a strong chance to get their run game rolling. They currently rank 43rd in rushing offense, averaging nearly 184 yards per game, but still haven’t found a true workhorse back. James Peoples, Quinton Martin, and Carson Hansen have all shared carries throughout the season.

Northwestern’s run defense has been a major weakness, ranking 128th in the nation and allowing nearly 200 rushing yards per game. I expect Peoples and Martin to break off some explosive runs, but don’t count out Becht. After a disappointing performance last week, this feels like the kind of game where the veteran could bounce back in a big way.

Las Vegas has Penn State as a 2.5‑point favorite over Northwestern.

I feel like this is going to be a challenging one for the Nittany Lions. It’s a Friday night road game following a tough loss — and it also marks the grand opening of Northwestern’s brand‑new $875 million stadium. I’m expecting a pretty raucous atmosphere.

Another key matchup to watch is the Penn State tight ends against the Northwestern defense. Coach Mouser mentioned they didn’t do a good enough job getting the tight ends involved against Wisconsin. Honestly, if they had, Penn State probably wins that game. Look early on to see if Benjamin Brahmer, Andrew Rappleyea and Gabe Burkle get more targets.

How Penn State responds tonight will give fans a clear sense of how Campbell and his team handle adversity. A win would show it can learn from its mistakes and fight back when things get tough. I think they do just that.

My pick is: Penn State 24, Northwestern 21.