Police may seek arrests over Penn State celebration, damage

In the past two years, Clemson and Ohio State each have lost only two games. We just had no idea it would be Penn State.

Five years after a child sex abuse scandal tainted the reputation of the school and its football program along with the legacy of late coach Joe Paterno, quarterback Trace McSorley put the Nittany Lions squarely back in the national spotlight Saturday night with an epic 38-31 come-from-behind victory over No. 6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. They will play for a New Year’s Six bowl win against Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl.

You think you have what it takes to stand in the middle of the action? Instead of a Clemson/Louisville rematch – a game that would’ve been incredibly compelling despite the Cardinals’ late slide – we got Clemson/Virginia Tech, a game that continued a building tradition of Clemson or Florida State beating the ACC Coastal victor in a game that fits the, “I guess they could lose, but they won’t”, narrative quite well. Helped by a 20-3 run in the second half, they came back to win the game 90-70. “We’ve done that. It’s on you now, the committee”.

USC will play in the RoseBowl for the first time in eight years on Jan.2 when it faces PennState, it was announced Sunday. Even a close head-to-head victory over Ohio State and a conference title was not enough for Penn State to overcome two losses.

Penn State will make its fourth appearance in the Rose Bowl, including three against USC.

Michigan, meanwhile, also didn’t deserve a playoff spot.

It was still 28-7 when McSorley hit Saeed Blacknall, who sidestepped a stumbling cornerback and went 40 yards to score just before halftime. He also added 347 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

And McSorley wasn’t the only one putting on a show. He completed 22 of 31 passes for a Big Ten championship game-record 384 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Wisconsin.

The Nittanly Lions went into the half down 28-14 to the Badgers, and seemingly had little momentum in this game. It won rather impressively, week after week. At some point, the fair thing to do is take a team like that, because those are largely the attributes Penn State fans are asking the committee to understand about their team. This year the Nittany Lions managed to squeak into the lead by beating Ohio State on a return for touchdown of a blocked field goal late in the 4th quarter. And the Nittany Lions shoot the puck.

While there is certainly heartbreak for players, coaches and fans alike, the now uncertain future still looms large as the Badgers will get one last shot to prove their preseason pessimists wrong. Five teams from the Big Ten are among my top 25, while there are four each from the ACC and Pac-12 and three from the Big 12.

Part of the reason why Alabama can survive sloppy games is a defense that allows just 11.4 points per game on average.

Ohio State, which lost to Penn State 24-21, was ranked third. MI lost two of its final three games on its way to a 10-2 finish.

“As the Selection Committee discussed Ohio State over the last couple of weeks, their body of work we believed was deserving of this No. 3 spot, and believed that they are unequivocally one of the best college football teams in the country this season”. With New Year’s Day falling on an NFL Sunday, it will be the only game in the late-afternoon window on January 2, falling between Wisconsin-Western Michigan (Cotton Bowl) and Auburn-Oklahoma (Sugar). Earlier, Barkley was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year by the conference. The crowd began to cheer and scream, and when the bus parked and coach James Franklin disembarked, they surged forward to encircle him. Penn State and MI didn’t have winning percentages comparable to Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington.