Don't look now, but the Big Ten may actually have a College Football Playoff contender.
The Penn State Nittany Lions, who are now eligible for the postseason for the first time since the outbreak of the Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2011, are rolling after a 48-7 rout of UMass on Saturday and are now undefeated at 4-0.
What's carried Penn State so far? Its prolific offense led by star quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
On Saturday, the Nittany Lions manhandled a UMass team that gave both Colorado and Vanderbilt—granted two weak teams but still major conference opponents—all the trouble they could muster. They won the game 48-7 behind a balanced attack where everybody seemed to click.
Hackenberg tossed for 179 yards, both Akeel Lynch and Bill Belton had over 75 yards on the ground and Geno Lewis hauled in 82 yards receiving.
The Nittany Lions also had 23 first downs to UMass' 13, converted on 10 of 17 third downs and held the ball for 37 minutes.
Everything is coming together for an offense that went into Week 4 ranked 10th in the nation in passing (360.7) and third in the Big Ten in total offense (436).
The catalyst is undoubtedly Hackenberg. His best showing came in Week 1 in Ireland against reigning Fiesta Bowl champion UCF, where he threw for 454 yards en route to a 26-24 win that got Penn State rolling. Jeff Nelson provided Hackenberg's stats:
Back-to-back 300-yard showings against Akron and then on the road against Rutgers solidified his status as one of the best gunslingers in the conference.
Hackenberg is complemented by two equally capable receivers in Lewis and DaeSean Hamilton, both of whom had over 300 yards receiving coming into Week 4.
The 48 points the Nittany Lions tallied against UMass is a season-high, and it couldn't have come at a better time as Penn State is gearing up for the toughest part of its schedule.
Next week they host Northwestern in a game that should be a win. But after a bye week, they face Michigan and Ohio State in consecutive weeks.
Michigan always has offensive firepower to hang with any team, and you add in the fact that the Nittany Lions have to go to the Big House and the Wolverines need to be clicking on all cylinders.
However, with Michigan struggling against Utah on Saturday, the Wolverines are looking more and more like the inferior team to Penn State this season, and the Nittany Lions should take care of business as long as they don't beat themselves.
If they escape Ann Arbor, they'll host the Buckeyes. While Ohio State isn't the same without Braxton Miller, its defense is still giving up just 17 points a game through three contests.
If—and that's a big if—Penn State can win those two, a regular-season finale with Michigan State will loom for the rest of the year. The Nittany Lions' opponents between Ohio State and Michigan State are Maryland, Indiana, Temple and Illinois.
Those games should be easily winnable, barring any drastic changes in circumstances. Then we'll really see what the Nittany Lions are made of come Nov. 29, when Sparty visits Happy Valley.
With the bowl ban lifted, this Penn State team has a renewed sense of optimism and a fresh set of expectations for this year. If it keeps rolling offensively like it has been, this team could be the feel-good story of 2014.
Read more Big Ten Football news on BleacherReport.com