STATE COLLEGE — It wasn’t a great, or even a good performance, but Penn State managed to get the job done in a 27-6 win over Rutgers that was harder to come by than anticipated.

The Scarlet Knights (2-10) gave No. 10 Penn State (10-2) fits in a lot of areas, but particularly on offense. Penn State struggled to a 7-3 halftime lead before rallying for 20 points in the second half for the hard-earned win.

That 21-point margin of victory doesn’t indicate how close the game was throughout the day. In fact, Rutgers outplayed the Nittany Lions in many facets. Penn State was outgained 383-333 on the day and was out-possessed 33:11-26:49.

Of course, as Penn State head coach James Franklin pointed out after the win, this Penn State team was playing without a few key starters, the most noteworthy being the absence of starting quarterback Sean Clifford.

“We had a lot of people on the field who hadn’t been on the field for bumps and bruises and things like that,” Franklin said. “(Defensive end Jayson) Oweh got his first start, (linebacker) Ellis (Brooks) got his first start, (quarterback Will) Levis got his first start… Those things are really valuable, and we will grow from that and learn from that.”

Of those first-time starters, the spotlight was most certainly on Levis, who had an up-and-down day overall. He completed 8 of 14 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, but was also picked off on an underthrown deep ball, and also underthrew a couple other would-be deep completions that could have resulted in points.

Where Levis did most of his damage, however, was on the ground. He led Penn State in rushing with 108 yards on 17 carries.

Of Levis’ performance, Franklin said, “I thought this week early on he was pressing a little bit, not just in the pass game, but in the run game — missing some reads and things like that. But he ran the ball well… This will be great tape for him to learn and grow from, and I am really excited about him and his future, but we could have been a little bit cleaner with some things tonight.”

What buoyed the Nittany Lions’ offense was the performance of Journey Brown, who rushed for 103 yards and a team-high three touchdowns on 16 carries. It was the third time in four games the sophomore has eclipsed the century mark after doing so just once in Penn State’s first eight games.

“Journey Brown just continues to grow and get better,” Franklin said of the back.

He followed that with attributing Brown’s recent breakout to the back’s growing confidence.

“It’s not like the guy lacks the ability, I just think he’s getting to the point where he’s confident with the scheme, he’s confident with his footwork, his fundamentals and technique. He’s playing with confidence right now.”

Meanwhile, Penn State’s defense also saw its share of struggles today, despite holding Rutgers to six points.

The Scarlet Knights gashed Penn State’s normally stout run defense for 184 yards — more than double the 89.8 yards per game Penn State was giving up coming into the game. Rutgers also converted seven of 16 third downs, compared to just a 3-for-10 performance on third down for PSU.

“We weren’t as explosive as we needed to be, and we probably gave up a few too many explosive plays,” Franklin acknowledged.

But, of course, a win is a win at the end of the day, and this was the tenth victory for Penn State in a year the Nittany Lions were widely predicted to be rebuilding.

With the victory, Penn State keeps itself in the hunt for a New Year’s Six bowl. The Nittany Lions could head to one of either the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl if they’re selected for the NY6.

Linebacker Micah Parsons said earning such an honor is important to the team.

“A New Year’s Six will really show the improvement we’ve made from last year,” he said. “Obviously, not getting in the New Year’s Six (last year) after being in the New Year’s Six (in 2017), so we are working our way back up to being a top tier program and to me that’s really important.”

Is there a preference for any of those possibilities?

“I honestly want to go back to the Rose Bowl,” said senior linebacker Cam Brown. “I started there and might as well end there, right?”

If Penn State is left out of the New Year’s Six, which is unlikely but possible, then the likeliest destinations would be the Citrus or Outback Bowls.

Whether or not the Nittany Lions still have their head coach by then has been another question. Rumors have been swirling that Franklin is a candidate for the available Florida State job, among other openings. The coach addressed those rumors after the game.

“There is nobody that would want this not to be talked about more than me,” he said. “I’m hoping this is going to be over very quickly… It’s a little bit the nature of college football, but I love Penn State, I love our players, I love what we’re doing here. I don’t see that changing any time soon. Hopefully all this conversation will be over very shortly.”

In the meantime, Franklin says he and his assistants will be on the recruiting trail this week while the Nittany Lions await their bowl announcement, which will come on Sunday, Dec. 8.