Penn State cornerback Audavion Collins (29) celebrates after an interception with Abdul Carter (11) during the second quarter of the NCAA college football game against Maryland on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions’ win advances them to a berth in the Big Ten championship game against Oregon on Saturday. The Associated Press

UNIVERSITY PARK — An average late-season Penn State home game turned out to be anything but a run-of-the-mill experience just moments before kickoff on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

Only 327 miles west of State College at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio State was heavily favored — by 19.5 points — over its hated rival, Michigan.

The unranked Wolverines knocked off the No. 2 Buckeyes, 13-10, just minutes before Penn State took the field.

The loss opened the door to put Penn State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday with a win over Maryland.

Penn State, now 11-1, handled its business appropriately with a commanding 44-7 victory over the Terrapins.

The applause from the crowd when the news started to make its rounds was very noticeable, even though pregame festivities were still happening in front of the crowd of 104,044 fans.

“(The coaches) knew, but I didn’t say anything to the team,” PSU coach James Franklin said. “Actually I said the opposite. I said, ‘Maryland, Maryland, Maryland …’ because I think a lot of people were aware of it, and I was trying to keep us focused.”

The players said they were unaware of the Michigan-Ohio State result until after the game.

“We don’t use our phones in the locker room,” linebacker Tony Rojas said.

Penn State controlled its own destiny, but it did not start out the way Franklin and Co. wanted. Maryland led 7-0 after PSU miscues on the first two plays of the game, but the Lions were brilliant after that with 44 unanswered points.

“I told them good news and bad news. We were supposed to have practice off (Sunday). We do not have the day off anymore,” Franklin said.

With a spot in the Big Ten title game this weekend, the Lions draw top-ranked Oregon on Saturday in Indianapolis.

The Ducks just completed an undefeated regular season on Saturday with a 49-21 win over Washington, and have been the top-ranked team in the nation since beating Ohio State on Oct. 12.

“It’s a huge feeling of excitement,” PSU defensive lineman Dvon J-Thomas said.

In the constantly changing world of college football, this weekend was just one example of how one turn of events can lead to chaos for the entire college football nation.

“In this wild, wild west of the playoff system, it’s more important now than ever to control the controllables,” J-Thomas said. “Things can change in an instant. We go from not being in the Big Ten championship to being in the Big Ten championship in an afternoon.”

Kickoff on Saturday is at 8 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium. CBS will televise.

The winner will get a bye for the College Football Playoff quarterfinals

(Dec. 31-Jan. 1). The loser will be playing in the CFP’s first round (Dec. 20-21).