AP TOP 25 TAKEAWAYS: A committee quandary and Heisman slip

I’m hoping the committee members call and ask for my advice. The veteran linebackers missed four and five games, respectively, earlier this season but returned for the Ohio State game. We hear week after week how impressed the committee is with various teams and nothing about how they weight in terms of picking the best four teams. Godwin got loose down the middle minutes later and McSorley hit him in stride for 59 yards to give Penn State a 31-12 lead.

Penn State’s DeAndre Thompkins (3) gets past Michigan State’s Justin Layne (39) after a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday Nov. 26, 2016. But the Lions have won eight straight since, including a paradigm-shifting upset of Ohio State. If it doesn’t, Michigan’s head-to-head win over Colorado and wins over Wisconsin and Penn State still make for a better resume. It is also the Nittany Lions’ first title game since the Big Ten shifted to divisions in 2011.

Penn State, which is 10-2 entering this Saturday’s huge game against Wisconsin, has a chance to win the Big Ten Championship. Does a conference championship trump everything?

Wisconsin lands on GameDay for the third time this season, the most of any school, while Penn State makes their first appearance since 2010.

Strongest argument: The Nittany Lions are a hot team now, and they won the Big Ten East.

Strongest argument: If the committee is going to let Ohio State in ahead of Penn State and Wisconsin, then why wouldn’t MI be in that discussion for a second Big Ten team?

“We had a lot of success on Saturday with those other backs in the backfield but obviously we all know Saquon is a special player”, Penn State coach James Franklin said. There is no way it should. But not this game.

-RB Andre Robinson is behind star Saquon Barkley on the depth chart but has proven himself good for a big play or two here and there with the reps he’s earned.

It seemed a long way off as Penn State started 2-2, including a blowout loss at MI.

Franklin said he expects Barkley would be able to practice this week, though hinted the running back’s health would be closely monitored by team trainers this week. The results just were not good enough. The College Football Playoff picture is more chaotic than ever with the question on whether or not the Big Ten can get two teams into the field of four. Should that conference championship weigh more than two regular-season losses? That is hard to ignore.

Biggest flaw: It’s either the three-point loss to Pitt or the blowout 39-point loss to MI.

Wisconsin presents a different challenge than Penn State has faced during its winning streak. If the Sooners beat Oklahoma State next week, they’ll finish the year at 10-2.

The point spread this time around has Wisconsin favored by 3 points, so it wouldn’t be much of an upset if PSU wins.

Next up in the “who is the best two-loss team left” would be Oklahoma. That turned out to be the final game he coached at Penn State before leaving for the NFL. What that night taught him, he said, was that giving up touchdowns, dropping interceptions or getting beat by receivers is not the end of the world.

Senior Bart Houston, who plays semi-regularly, finished the game.

Franklin’s Nittany Lions bring one of college football’s youngest rosters into the championship but also one of its most explosive and disciplined. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Poni” show weekdays from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.