Coaches are loathe to give players too much time to enjoy and celebrate successes. Fortunately for Penn State coach Jeff Tambroni, that doesn't appear to be a problem.
Despite the previously 14th-ranked Nittany Lions upending then-No. 5 Notre Dame, 4-3, in overtime on Sunday, the team's schedule doesn't lighten up as No. 11 Ohio State, No. 12 Denver and No. 6 Massachusetts will occupy the opposing sideline in the next three contests.
"We attempted to attract a few more quality opponents on our schedule this year, and as I look down at the first six games, we played [No. 4] North Carolina, Michigan and Notre Dame and will play Ohio State [this Saturday], Denver [March 10] and UMass [March 17]. You go right down the line, and every game is against a quality opponent. Ohio State beat Denver and then turned around and lost to UMass. Notre Dame beat Duke and then lost to Penn State. So much happens from one week to the next that you've got to keep your kids focused. We understand how good Ohio State is, and we've just got to do a really good job of just trying to maintain and improve on a daily basis that will allow us to get where we want to be when the season ends. So that has been our focus. We're extremely excited we won last Sunday, but at the same time, coming back here Monday morning, we were all back at it."