Wisconsin, Penn St. try to focus on title game – not playoff

In just his sophomore season, Saquon Barkley was named the Big Ten’s top offensive player and top running back. Everybody has talked about our offense and our defense this year, but probably the area I think we’ve improved as much as anything is on special teams.

If the Wolverines (10-2) are going to slide into the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings, they will need considerable help from the Hokies, who face Clemson in the ACC championship.

The Big Ten accounts for half of the best eight teams in college football this week. Not if it’s Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions will be left out, even if they go ahead and beat the Badgers, as Ohio State waltzes into the CFP.

Chryst, whose Badgers are standing between Penn State and the 2016 Big Ten championship, wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire at his previous coaching stop: Pitt. “They’ve earned that right to go and it’ll be fun”.

The Wisconsin vs. Penn State Big Ten championship game will air nationally on FOX starting at 8 p.m. this Saturday, December 3. “I think that’s going to be a big part of this game, is us making sure that we protect the football”. He hasn’t finished either of the past two games because of injury, and he struggled to put any weight on his right foot and ankle at the end of the victory over Michigan State. Clemson was fourth last week, but moved up a spot after defeating rival SC 56-7 in an impressive performance last Saturday. But those pundits said the Nittany Lions couldn’t beat Ohio State.

But the hunch here is that, ridiculously, MI would be the choice. “We know we’re always best with all of our guys, but that’s not the case so often in the year”. Then there’s the dreaded eye test, which can be a lie in and of itself.

In addition to picking up their fourth straight win at home this season, Penn State picked up its fourth straight win in the throwback jerseys since it debuted them in 2014.

A score that is, frankly, a damned lie.

Nothing too spectacular, in terms of sheer volume, but certainly enough to keep Penn State on track.

Context. Context. Context. Context.

The Badgers have all but capped the best in the league, holding Michigan State’s L.J. Scott, Michigan’s De’Veon Smith and Iowa Akrum Wadley – to name a few – to fewer than 70 yards of production.

Just like the MI vs. Ohio State prediction, this game may come down to the final drive, and the victor may be the team that has the ball last. Everybody thought including myself that Penn State Football was dead.

They were blown out by a MI team ranked in front of them. Hornibrook is questionable for the game with a head injury he suffered last week.

At some point, losing matters.

McSorley has thrown just five interceptions all season. Lately, whenever he touches the ball, holes are as plentiful for him as they are for any in Penn State’s talented stable of running backs. “I didn’t know anything about it until after practice”. “That’s really the only change in the things that we’ve done this week compared to last week”.

Penn State has won eight straight to make its first appearance in the title game. And even if one of those teams loses, UW may need to win convincingly in order to jump MI.

Penn State would get on the board seven minutes into the first scoring a similar goal to the one that had been called off by getting a puck to the net and banging away at the rebound. “It’s up to each member of the selection committee to determine if there’s a priority of one of those four metrics to them, and which one carries the most weight”. “Not just knocking it down, but let’s get the pick”.