The Penn State Nittany Lions and Wisconsin Badgers will meet up in an unlikely Big Championship Game on Saturday. Here are five reasons Penn State will win.
Heading into the 2016 college football season, there were plenty of thoughts as to who would be playing against each other in the Big Ten Championship Game. In the east, it was definitely going to be Ohio State or Michigan, two programs who were ranked in the Top 5 for much of the year. Over in the West, it was thought that Iowa would continue their dominance over the rest of the division.
Well, that scenario has not played out, and on Saturday night, Penn State will take on Wisconsin for the conference title. Penn State has had an improbable season, reeling off eight straight wins after starting the season 2-2. Wisconsin is also 10-2 on the year, with their only losses coming against Ohio State and Michigan. It is certain to be an interesting battle in Indy on Saturday.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the five reasons why Penn State will come away with the Big Ten Championship over Wisconsin.
5 . The Nittany Lions have an advantage in the passing game
This game is going to feature two extremely talented running backs, as Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and Wisconsin’s Corey Clement are two of the best in the Big Ten. Both backs have the potential to play at the next level and have carried their respective teams on their backs throughout the season. While Barkley gets a bit more publicity that Clement, there is no doubt that this is a pretty even matchup at the position.
The quarterback position is another story, as Penn State has a distinct advantage when it comes to their signal-caller. Trace McSorley has stepped right in for Christian Hackenberg this season after the junior left the program to enter the NFL Draft. All McSorley has done is become the leader of the team, and is far better equipped at running head coach James Franklin’s offense than Hackenberg ever was.
Wisconsin will come into the game with questions at the position, as freshman Alex Hornibrook suffered a concussion in the team’s last game against Minnesota. While he is listed as questionable, the Nittany Lions expect him to play, but how effective is he going to be coming off a dangerous injury. Expect Penn State to blitz him consistently, as they try to get inside the youngster’s head and force some mistakes.
The bottom line is McSorley does not make many mistakes and has done a nice job distributing the ball this season. He works his tight ends well, and his big receivers have a huge edge when it comes to going after the jump ball in this one. McSorley is going to be a difference maker in this game, and it should give Penn State the X-factor it needs to come away with the title on Saturday night.