After Oregon State stunned the top-ranked Southern Cal, 27-21, on Thursday evening, Nittany Nation is even more confident on the eve of the Big Ten opener against Illinois. That’s because Penn State smacked those same Beavers just three weeks ago, 45-14, and because USC blasted Big Ten frontrunner Ohio State earlier this month.

But beware.

Comparing results from week to week is a futile endeavor. Just because team A beats B, and B tops C, it doesn’t necessarily mean that A is better than C. It just doesn’t work that way, and it would be counterproductive for anybody in Happy Valley to start thinking that PSU is somehow, all of the sudden, a better team than they were on Wednesday. If the players are thinking that, their title hopes could go up in flames on Saturday.

Looking too far ahead is very dangerous. Just ask Southern Cal, who seemed to sleepwalk through Thursday’s first half, fell into a 21-0 hole and never recovered.

What happened on Thursday doesn’t make Ohio State any easier to beat on the road Oct. 25. The Lions have yet to beat the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten 15 years ago.

And that carries a heck of a lot more weight than anything that happened in Corvallis, Ore., on Thursday. – NEIL GEOGHEGAN.