Penn State coach James Franklin is all too familiar with this week’s daunting scenario.

He watched the Nittany Lions’ conference title hopes and playoff possibilities slip away with back-to-back road losses last October. Two early losses during a three-week stretch in 2016 kept the eventual Big Ten champs out of the playoffs. In 2014, a four-game midseason losing streak prevented Penn State from reaching a major bowl game.

Now, No. 18 Penn State heads to Indiana, hoping to turn things around again after losing two straight home games.

“What happens is, in any organization, with any CEO, with any team, there are typically three steps forward and one step back and that step back is painful and you’ve got to learn from it,” Franklin said. “You’ve got to grow and you’ve got to evolve and you’ve got to get better. That’s what we’re going to do.”

But the long road back this time could be far more challenging.

First, the Nittany Lions (4-2, 1-2) have less experience than previous years.

Plus, when the previous stumbles started on road trips, allowing them to rebound at home. This time, they’ve lost two straight in State College and the Nittany Lions are now forced to solve their problems Saturday on the road — at Indiana.

One problem: The Hoosiers (4-3, 1-3) also are attempting to snap a two-game skid following their worst game of the season, and coach Tom Allen could be throwing Penn State a curve ball.

“I want to push the envelope in both tempo and creating bigger plays, trying to get our guys in position,” Allen said when asked if he anticipated the offense being more aggressive this weekend. “You’ve got to be able to find creative ways of trying to do that. To me, it’s learning to push the envelope. I’m going to continue to talk through that, want to see it happen. I want to see us be able to put pressure on the defense.”

That’s not something Franklin needed to hear.