Southern California Meets Penn State in 103rd Rose Bowl

Mike Riley will lead the Huskers to his second straight bowl game with the team, this time against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. Washington whipped Colorado 41-10 in the Pac-12 title game Friday night.

Penn State, following their win in the Big Ten title game, jumped ahead of MI into the fifth spot and the Wolverines dropped to sixth.

In comparison, the Big 10 had one one-loss team.

The Nittany Lions pulled off a remarkable comeback late Saturday night to beat Wisconsin, 38-31, and win the Big Ten championship at Lucas Oil Stadium. “As a selection committee, we go back to our charge, our mission, which is to select the four very best teams in college football”.

That meant that the question of Ohio State vs. Penn State never truly needed to be answered.

Alabama was ranked No. 1, to no one’s surprise. The pairings have set up a potential rematch. And the fact that it was not and would not be a conference champion. They beat Ohio State.

I’m sticking with Oklahoma at five, did move Penn State up to sixth following its win over Wisconsin, kept MI at seventh and dropped Wisconsin two spots to eighth. “When we started the Playoff, people said this will grow the game”. The Buckeyes and Tigers will meet at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, on December 31. The national championship game will be January 9 in Tampa.

At the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, Alabama opened as a 14-point favorite over Washington. Which one should be left out so Penn State can get in?

If the committee was impressed with the turnaround, it just might give the Nittany Lions (11-2, No. 7 CFP) a chance.

Helton is in his first full season as USC’s coach. J.T. Barrett had some inconsistencies during the season, but still threw for 3,275 yards and 33 touchdowns with five interceptions.

If a writer tried to submit a screenplay of this Penn State season for a movie, he’d probably get laughed at for it being too unbelievable.

Penn State looked darn close to pulling the same trick Ohio State did just two years ago, when an epic performance in the Big Ten Championship Game propelled the Buckeyes into the four-team field, boxing out the champions of the Big 12. IN is a very talented team that almost upset several conference powers, including Nebraska and MI.

It worked out great Sunday for Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington. But Iowa rallied to win three consecutive games, including key victories against MI and Nebraska to reach the Outback Bowl. Penn State has two.

However, a 39-point loss against MI on September 24 has to be the undoing. They won the division they share with the Buckeyes and now they are Big Ten champions for the first time since 2008.

Rounding out the top 10 were USC and Florida State.

Wisconsin took a 28-7 lead into the final minute of the first half of the Big Ten Championship Game. Playing in the rugged Big Ten East is hard, but the Terrapins picked up wins where they could to reach the Quick Lane Bowl against Boston College.

It was Clemson’s second consecutive ACC title and third in eight seasons under coach Dabo Swinney. The Hokies finished 9-4 under first-year coach Justin Fuente. He also broke the school’s single-season records for yards passing and touchdown passes. “I think this is a game and a bowl that players and coaches grow up dreaming about having an opportunity to play in and be a part of one day”.