Try to focus on title game _ not playoff

You can argue Penn State has the best victory (Ohio State) and its loss to MI came early in the season when most of its linebackers were injured.

Meanwhile, the Badgers’ stout offensive line has usually worn opposing defensive lines down by then.

The Badgers (10-2, 7-2) won six consecutive games to claim the Big Ten’s West Division.

What has become evidently clear to me is that the committee’s real goal it to promote the game as best it can. When broken down by quarter, the Nittany Lions average 5.1 points in the first, 8.2 in the second, 9.8 in the third, and a nation leading 13.0 in the fourth.

The victor will take home the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and have a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff, including the Rose Bowl.

“I’m thrilled to be in Indianapolis and to be doing the Big Ten game this week”. It could become a sad reality. Or could the committee opt for both in the playoff and tell Washington to really enjoy that Rose Bowl bid?

“It certainly means a lot”, Chryst said at the time. Yet, the conference still may get two spots in the College Football Playoff. They did not win their conference championship. Cornerback Sojourn Shelton, a four-year starter, had two interceptions last week against Minnesota.

Still, without forecasting the outcomes of championship Saturday, we can definitely conclude that the committee’s directives are cloudier than ever. Before the season it was all Iowa, all MI, all Ohio State. More importantly, the Horned Frogs were better than Baylor despite losing the head to head match up.

Clemson was No. 3 in the last committee rankings and Washington was No. 4.

Even if Clemson loses, it’s unclear who the second Big Ten team could be. But the wins they’ve had have been so thorough and convincing that it’s hard to deny their place among the contenders at this point.

So which Big Ten team gets in? They believe they’re the equal of any team in the country and, given the difficulty of their path, they went out and proved it. And while they only played one ranked team during that stretch, they did hand the Buckeyes their only loss of the season.

With the University of Wisconsin and Penn State battling for a potential spot in the College Football Playoff, this year’s Big Ten Championship is one of the marquee events in college football. First of all, they aren’t TCU. The Nittany Lions’ rushing attack will have to improve on its performance against the Spartans as Penn State managed only 77 yards on 33 carries, good for 2.3 yards per attempt. They played an impressive game this past weekend against No. 2 Ohio State despite the loss. As a result, the victor of the game might not get the benefit of the doubt. Barkley ran for over 200 yards twice this season against Maryland and Purdue.

The Badgers boast the nation’s third-best scoring defense, trailing only Alabama and MI with an average of just 13.7 points-per-game allowed.

It’s why the sport of college football is flourishing right now, at the same exact time we’ve seen sports networks proliferate.

Faced with low expectations, a daunting schedule, injuries and those two crushing losses, the Badgers never even wobbled.

Outside of the Buckeyes and an overtime win over then-No. Otherwise, opponents didn’t score more than 20 points the rest of the season. And if Wisconsin wants to come away with a victory to give themselves a shot at getting into the College Football Playoff, it will be with the legs of Corey Clement.