STATE COLLEGE — There’s an unmarked grave somewhere along Penn State’s two outdoor practice fields.

Buried there is the game tape from a particularly brutal season opener against Temple, entombed a day after the Nittany Lions were battered and humiliated by the in-state rival Owls in 2015.

They are dealing with losses better these days, but their 38-25 drubbing by No. 3 Ohio State still hurts, and the 0-2 start hasn’t been easy for a team that expected to compete for at least a Big Ten title. Now out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in four years, the Nittany Lions are trying to find some positivity to build on and to avoid falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2001.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in this position as a head coach,” Penn State’s James Franklin said. “I think our guys have taken a very mature approach. Obviously, disappointed and frustrated and not where we want to be or where we think we should be.”

Franklin noted that playing a season without nonconference games has made the situation more urgent.

The Nittany Lions dug a deep hole for themselves by losing to Indiana in the season opener. A thorough beating by the Buckeyes on Saturday dropped them to last in the Big Ten East.

Regional rival Maryland (1-1) visits Beaver Stadium on Saturday before the Nittany Lions travel to Nebraska, where a Penn State team hasn’t won since 1981.

“It’s very all or nothing with the College Football Playoff now,” Franklin said. “So I think for the most part, I think our guys have handled adversity well.”

That doesn’t include burying bad memories at the practice facility.

First, there’s a brief unwinding period.