PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- No. 8 Penn State is a win away from getting a piece of its first conference title since 2011, the year Joe Paterno was fired.Tyler Davis kicked a career-high four field goals and the Nittany Lions stayed in the hunt for a berth in the Big Ten Conference title game with a 39-0 victory over Rutgers on Saturday night.The win kept Penn State tied for first place in the Big Ten East with Ohio State and Michigan, who face each other in Columbus, Ohio. If the Buckeyes win and the Nittany Lions take their home finale against Michigan State, Penn State goes to the title game, having beaten the Buckeyes in the regular season.When I was a freshman, I never thought with the sanctions that we would ever be in this type of position, and to be here with nine wins -- this is our first nine-win season since Ive been on the team. Im just really proud of it, fifth-year senior defensive end Evan Schwan said after Penn State (9-2, 7-1, No. 9 AP) won its seventh straight game, its longest streak since 11, the year the child sex abuse scandal broke involving one of Paternos former coaches.Penn State was never threatened in this one, which finished with rain and then sleet falling.Saquon Barkley and Andre Robinson scored on short third-quarter runs and the Nittany Lions defense limited Rutgers (2-9, 0-8) to 87 yards in total offense.Tight end Mike Gesicki said the team has not talked much about the postseason implications in recent weeks.We control our own destiny on Saturdays when we play whoever were playing and thats all we can control and thats all we care about, Gesicki said.Trace McSorley (17-of-33 for 210 yards) added a 27-yard scoring pass to Mark Allen and backup quarterback Tommy Stevens scored on a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter, when the Nittany Lions had 216 of their 549 yards in total offense.The loss was the eighth straight for Rutgers and rookie head coach Chris Ash, and the shutout was the fourth of the season. The last time Rutgers was shut out four times in a season was 1936, when it was blanked six straight games in a 1-6-1 season.This one hurt because it was Senior Day for the Scarlet Knights and they wanted to give their seniors a final win at home.Just want to thank our seniors, Ash said. Disappointing that Senior Night didnt end on a positive. Didnt give them an opportunity to leave their legacy in this football program and this university the way that we wanted.Penn State led 9-0 at the half and the story was Davis and the Nittany Lions defense.Davis hit from 32, 34 and 40 yards, the first two into a stiff wind. He added a 32-yarder early in the second half to push the lead to 19-0.The defense set the tone for the game after Penn State return man Miles Sanders muffed the opening kickoff and Rutgers recovered at the 19. Three plays lost seven yards and David Bonagura was wide right on a 45-yard field goal attempt.The defense has been better every week, Penn State linebacker Jason Cadinda said. We pitched a shutout, 80-something yards. Every week the confidence just builds and builds. We know what were capable of. Its as simple as that.Rutgers averaged less than two yards a play on its 50 offensive plays, finishing 1 of 14 on third-down attempts.Look at the stats, were not even one dimensional, Ash said.THE TAKEAWAYPenn State: While the Nittany Lions defense was outstanding, the offense did not do much until late. There also has to be concern because Barkley (16 carries for 92 yards) was dinged in the third quarter on a run inside the 10 and he did not return. Michigan State showed Saturday that it still had something in the tank despite a dreadful season and Penn State needs a healthy Barkley.Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights will get a chance to play spoiler again and give Ash his first Big Ten win. All they need to do is end Marylands bid for bowl eligibility.DUBIOUS RECORD: Rutgers Michael Cintron averaged 37.3 yards on 11 punts, including one that was blocked. He now has punted 89 times this season, a single-season record for a punter in the conference.UP NEXTPenn State: The Nittany Lions close out the conference regular season at home against Michigan State.Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights play at Maryland on Saturday. Air Max Plus Clearance . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Cheap Air Max Plus .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. http://www.clearanceairmaxplus.com/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Air Max Plus Free Shipping . The scientists believe the small earthquake during a Marshawn Lynch touchdown was likely greater than Lynchs famous "beast quake" touchdown run three years ago, which also came against New Orleans during a playoff game. Air Max Plus Wholesale . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Reality already is setting in for a few teams that opened the season with playoff aspirations.No. 23 Mississippi, No. 25 Oklahoma and Notre Dame have dropped two of their first three games after each was ranked 11th or higher in the preseason Top 25 . Its the first time in nearly two decades that three teams ranked in the top 15 before the season were below .500 three games into the year.The ultimate goals likely out of reach. How will they stay motivated?If we start focusing on what happened in the last three weeks, were probably going to hit a pretty big wall here in the next nine games, Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey said.CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisel knows how challenging it is to recover.Neuheisel coached a Colorado team in 1997 that was coming off two straight top-10 finishes and opened the year ranked eighth. The Buffaloes started 2/3 that season and finished 5-6.Youve got to get up in the morning, be ready to go and put a look on your face -- not that youre angry at your team, not that youre going to punish them because they havent met expectations -- but that were resetting our expectations, were recalibrating and were going to find our way back, Neuheisel said.The last time three preseason top-15 teams were below .500 this early was 1998, when Michigan and Arizona State started 0-2 and North Carolina lost its first three games. Michigan was fifth, Arizona State eighth and North Carolina 12th in the preseason Top 25.These types of starts could become more common in the playoff era, as teams strengthen their nonconference schedules to impress the selection committee.Oklahomas two losses came against No. 9 Houston and No. 2 Ohio State . Notre Dame lost at Texas and at home to No. 8 Michigan State . Ole Miss fell to No. 13 Florida State and No. 1 Alabama after leading by three touchdowns in both games .Becoming and being relevant, I think it creates an expectation, and that expectation results in winning celebrations or disappointing losses, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. Thats the two things youre going to get. Weve had our share of both,, and this year in September weve had the disappointing losses.ddddddddddddThe difficulty of bouncing back when a preseason top-15 team has fallen out of playoff contention is one reason why ESPN analyst and former Texas coach Mack Brown would rather see no polls released until mid-October.As a coach, Ive always been against early polls, because I think theyre very unfair, Brown said. We just dont know about the chemistry. You dont know whos going to be healthy through preseason camp.Brown said regrouping in this era is even tougher than before because so much focus is on which teams remain in the playoff hunt. Brown said bowl games that arent part of the playoff dont get as much attention as they received in the BCS era.You try to win your conference championship. ... That hope is still there, Brown said. There are great things that can still happen in the end if you win your conference championship.Of course, Notre Dame cant use that as incentive due to its independent status. Theyll need to find something else.We can still finish the regular season 10-2, Notre Dame wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. said. Thats a great season. We finished the (regular) season 10-2 last year.For now, all three teams arent dwelling on their postseason possibilities and instead are focused on correcting the mistakes that got them to this point.Theres always the long-shot possibility they could get back in the playoff chase.Citing the 2007 LSU team that won the national title after losing two regular-season games, Neuheisel said somebody eventually will reach the playoff with more than one loss.There will be a day when a two-loss team will get there, (so they can say), `Why not us? Given the way were going to attack our preparation for the remainder of the season, who knows what can happen? Neuheisel said. You hold it out there as hope.---AP Sports Writers David Brandt in Oxford, Mississippi, and Tom Coyne in South Bend, Indiana, contributed to this report. ' ' '