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UNIVERSITY PARK -- OK, let the season begin.
Then sixth-ranked Penn State improved to 6-0 by disposing of Massachusetts, 63-0, on a miserable, rainy Saturday at Beaver Stadium, the last remaining "game" on the schedule before the curtain goes up on the real competition.
And that's Saturday in Columbus, where the unbeaten and third-ranked Buckeyes await and where the Nittany Lions' season will be shaped.
James Franklin, though, wasn't quite ready to look ahead Saturday night, saying/pleading, "I just want to have a few hours of normalcy and hang out with my wife," before talking about Ohio State.
Despite a couple of postgame attempts to get some preliminary thoughts on the Buckeyes, Franklin wasn't even mentioning them by name, referring to "our next opponent."
His players followed his lead.
"I'm looking forward to it (OSU), but I'm enjoying this win," defensive end Chop Robinson, who made two of the Lions' seven sacks, said. "Once that time comes, we'll be ready."
"Just enjoying this win," Kaytron Allen said.
So what to expect in what has been a house of horrors for Penn State?
Well, through six games, we've seen enough of the Nittany Lions' offense to strongly suspect Penn State is not going to hang 50 in the Horseshoe.
The Lions' run game wound up with big numbers Saturday (246 yards, 6.6 average on 37 carries), but it only gained 34 on its first nine tries -- against one of the nation's worst defenses.
Starting tailback Nick Singleton just does not appear to be as explosive as he was last year as a freshman when the Lions freed him into many more outside lanes. His longest run Saturday was 10 yards.
Granted, the weather was slippery, but this was defenseless UMass, and the Lions' overall run game hasn't been very good.
Much was made last week about the lack of an up-top passing game, and though the Lions chucked a couple more shots than they have, they generally settled for underneath routes, which were effective as Drew Allar was accurate (16-of-23 with three-plus drops) and kept his interception-free season intact.
The defense-- once again -- was special, and the special teams stood out.
UMass couldn't block the Nits, gave up 14 tackles for loss, punted 10 times and State's Daequan Hardy returned two punts for touchdowns.
"The defense has been able to control the game and from that point, we've played complementary football," Franklin said.
Your name doesn't have to be Lombardi to embrace the theory that Penn State's best chance to compete with the Buckeyes -- much less defeat them -- is with another dominating defensive effort.
"We feel every week we have to live up to the standard," Robinson said.
It may be necessary.
Maybe when Allar has another year under his belt and the offensive line that was supposed to be more dominant is, optimism about the Lions' offense holding its own in the tough environment of Columbus will be different.
But right now, that's not the case.
Going into the season, there seemed to be two prevailing questions: Can the Lions keep a semi-handle on Marvin Harrison Jr. and the Buckeyes' explosive passing game and can they hang in physically with Michigan?
How many years have we seen Penn State with a lead against Ohio State, only to lose it in the fourth quarter because the Lions couldn't guard the Buckeyes' wideouts?
The Lions allowed 28 points in the fourth quarter of last year's 44-31 come-from-ahead loss.
While Franklin didn't want to speak about Ohio State yet, deferring to his Tuesday press conference, Buckeye coach Ryan Day was quick to acknowledge the challenge Penn State presents.
"We all know we have a big game next week," Day said after the Buckeyes improved to 6-0 with a 41-7 win at Purdue. "We are nowhere near where we need to be. … The preparation starts now."
It should be a fun week -- no matter when the official talk begins.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.