AP names Barkley top Big Ten offensive player

Penn State had been hoping that a Big Ten championship, a Big Ten East Division title and a win against Ohio State would have propelled them into the top four.

McSorley was named game MVP after guiding the Lions back from a 28-7 deficit.

Penn State will move on to face the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl.

Winston-Salem Journal sports columnist Scott Hamilton is one of 61 voters in the Associated Press college football poll.

It placed unbeaten Alabama, and the three Power 5 conference teams that finished with one loss, into the four-team tournament that will decide the 2016 national champion.

The Nittany Lions, seventh in the last rankings, are the hottest team in the country that doesn’t call Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home.

The Nittany Lions have won nine straight since a 49-10 loss at MI on September 24.

It’s a 99.9th percentile result, in fact. They say you are allowed to overcome minor setbacks and we’ve done that.

Western Michigan (13-0), at No. 15 in the final CFP rankings, beat two Big Ten teams on the road early this season, Northwestern and IL.

But let’s break this down, CFP participant by CFP participant. That wish came true with the CFP committee granting Petersen’s team the No. 4 seed opposite No. 1 Alabama (13-0) in a semifinal matchup.

The Buckeyes’ résumé was strong, with three top-10 wins and its only loss on the road to top-10 Penn State. Keep an eye on Ohio State freshman Nick Bosa and Clemson senior Ben Boulware – both make plays all over the field.

What the Big 12 needs most of all is a healthy and humming Texas program and for coach Tom Herman to be as good as advertised. Don’t tell us conference championship games matter.

University officials had asked students in a letter posted online Thursday to refrain from that kind of behavior should their school win Saturday’s game, saying October’s victory had been “needlessly tarnished by the mayhem that followed”.

As for Oklahoma, which ran the table in the Big 12 to win its 10th title under coach Bob Stoops, it is off to the Sugar Bowl. On Wisconsin’s opening drive, a 14-play, 81-yard march that chewed up eight minutes on the clock, Clement carried the ball eight times for 26 yards, grinding out a few yards at a time.

The Buckeyes have only lost once. The Buckeyes were outplayed by Michigan, and struggled against Northwestern and Michigan State, the week before the Lions blew Michigan State out. Outside of the undefeated Crimson Tide, the semifinalists have one loss apiece.

The truth is this: There were six teams of Playoff caliber this season. Clemson has won three straight in the series. I said, ‘This game is already off the charts in popularity.’ But we have proven that this college football tree can grow. Ohio State, however, won three games against top-10 teams (No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 6 Michigan). Nevertheless, a Rose Bowl spot against USC is quite the consolation prize. It beat ranked Utah.

This is not to argue that Penn State got jobbed.

“They made some plays down the field and we didn’t make enough to make McSorley feel uncomfortable”, Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said. They lost to Iowa a week after Penn State blew Iowa out. There was concern that if Navy won the American Athletic Conference championship, several bowl assignments would be delayed while waiting to see if Navy could qualify for the Cotton Bowl bid.

As Penn State’s band played and Lucas Oil Stadium rocked, thousands of fans clad in their traditional white shirts chanted “We Are Penn State”.

The nation’s No. 1 team scored off a blocked punt and an interception return Saturday before wearing down No. 15 Florida in the second half with a dominant running game. The rematch of the 2009 game showcases two venerable football programs that have emerged from bad times since their last trip to this traditional postseason destination for their conferences.