STATE COLLEGE — Jaquan Brisker doesn’t want his final season to end in losing fashion.

That’s why Penn State’s star safety decided to return this year. He simply couldn’t stomach the Nittany Lions’ 4-5 effort a year ago.

“I didn’t want my name behind that,” Brisker said.

He certainly doesn’t want to go out on the Nittany Lions’ current trajectory, either.

They’ve lost four of five, including two in row at Beaver Stadium, where Rutgers will visit on Saturday.

While Penn State (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) has won 15 straight games against the Scarlet Knights (5-5, 2-5), this group of Nittany Lions should know better than most that success isn’t guaranteed.

Three of their four losses this season have come by four points or fewer. Penn State put up a fight into the fourth quarter against No. 5 Ohio State but fell 33-24. Illinois won in nine overtimes. No. 18 Iowa needed a fourth-quarter comeback. No. 8 Michigan scored a long touchdown late last week.

Now a team that had playoff hopes after a 5-0 start just wants to recoup some positivity with two games left.

“Two, three, four plays,” defensive end Arnold Ebiketie said. “Those things just keep occurring and that’s the main reason we lost those games and those are just some of the plays that we have to have if we want to be where we want to be.”

Those plays could come easier against Rutgers than they did against Michigan.

Although they’ve won two of three, the Scarlet Knights have been hit or miss on defense. They’re allowing 371 yards per game and surrendering just 22 points but have been vulnerable to big plays, allowing 49 plays of 20 or more yards.

They’ll need to tighten up to earn their first bowl appearance since 2014.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who got his start as an assistant at Penn State, hopes his team can block out the noise that comes with playing in one of the nation’s biggest venues.

“We may not be good enough to win the game,” Schiano said. “I don’t know that. We’re going to find that out Saturday. But I know we’re not good enough to be watching that and watching that.”