A few trivia as the Nittany Lions try to stay focused at Purdue:

n The Boilermakers have a history of upsetting top teams, especially at home.

In all, Purdue has 17 wins over Top 5 teams, more than any other team in the history of the Associated Press poll, which began in 1936.

The Boilermakers have seven wins against ranked opponents over the last six seasons, including three against Top 3 teams (No. 2 Ohio State in 2018, No. 2 Iowa in 2021, No. 3 Michigan State in 2021).

Penn State heads to West Lafayette at No. 4, and while the Lions should always be on upset alert because of Purdue’s history, this doesn’t appear to be the Boilers’ year to pull off a surprise.

In two games against top-5 teams Oregon and Ohio State, Purdue has yet to score, losing by 35 and 45 points.

The Boilers (1-8) also gave up 66 points to Notre Dame and 52 points to offensively challenged Wisconsin.

More likely, as the first of a two-game Big Ten tourney with Minnesota on deck next week, this is a chance for Penn State to get off to a fast start, rest its players and stock up for some second-half action .

The redshirt rule that allows players to play in four games without burning a year of eligibility also has games like today in mind.

Seeing how close the Lions come to dominating Purdue the same way Oregon and Ohio State did will be something the College Football Playoff committee monitors.

n The College Football Playoff rankings didn’t take long to stir up controversy, and Penn State is in the thick of things.

The Lions are seeded No. 4 and No. 6 in the bracket, as the lower-seeded (championship) teams in the ACC and Big 12, currently projected to be Miami and BYU, will receive first-round byes.

National media types like Paul Finebaum and Chris Russo discredit Penn State’s resume, and they have a point.

Finebaum, known as the “mouth of the south,” asked “What has Penn State done?” to deserve his stature, and Russo, a New York talk show host, echoed the same.

Both are giants in the industry and will not be outshone.

This is the time of year when programs, quality wins and respectable losses will be scrutinized.

While winning at West Virginia, USC and Wisconsin is admirable, none of those three are enjoying banner seasons. The fact is, Penn State’s best resume is a competitive 20-13 loss to Ohio State.

Meanwhile, two-loss Georgia can claim a win at Texas, while two-loss Alabama beat Georgia.

Penn State should be pretty automatic in the field if it can finish 11-1, but it can’t afford another loss (like at Minnesota) if it runs the cards against two-loss SEC teams that have played more challenging schedules .

Indiana is in the same boat as the Nits. The Hoosiers are the story of the year in college football and their coach, Curt Cignetti, a former head coach at IUP, is a contender for national honors.

But the Hoosiers lack a quality win and must play competitively at Ohio State next week to stay in the CFP conversation.

n Nick Singleton’s season has been hampered by a few nagging injuries, so it will be no surprise if his workload is limited on Saturday. Singleton averaged 102 yards in the Lions’ first four games and 33.7 in the last four games.

n James Franklin said freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkenmeyer has “really been on” lately. If the Lions can put away Purdue early, maybe Grunk will get a chance to play some late series.

n Bill O’Brien suffered a blow at Boston College when his former starting quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, announced this week that he was leaving the program — days after taking the bench. It’s nice for players to have flexibility, but at the moment there is too much freedom that comes at the expense of the team. The NCAA needs to deal with this.

n The NFL’s declaration deadline for the 2025 NFL Draft is Wednesday, Jan. 15 — less than a week after the CFP semifinals. Players participating in the CFP Finals will have until January 24th to declare.

Rudel can be reached at [email protected]. He will answer questions and provide brief commentary on Gameday.