Michigan fans are mad Penn State won the Big Ten

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates with teammates after catching a touchdown pass against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates with teammates after catching a touchdown pass against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Penn State won the Big Ten Championship Game by getting a stop on 4th down and you can taste the salt all the way from Ann Arbor.

The Big Ten Championship Game will go down as an instant classic. Penn State, a team that started 2-2 but hasn’t lost since September, battled back from a 28-7 deficit to win the conference against all odds. It caps off what has become the best story of the college football season.

Just about everyone is happy for their success, except for, you guessed it, Michigan fans. They watched the Big Ten Championship Game knowing that they beat the winner by 39 points. And when Penn State sealed it with a stop on fourth down, TVs were probably broken in Ann Arbor:


Michigan can be as salty as they want, or even “bitterly disappointed“, but they blew their chance to play in this game. Their Ohio State loss may have come down to that 4th-and-1, but they shouldn’t have even let that game go to overtime. And while the Wolverines beat Wisconsin and Penn State, let’s not act like they didn’t lose to an unranked Iowa team that lost to North Dakota State.

Penn State earned the right to play in the Big Ten game, and wholly deserved this win. They also beat Ohio State whereas Michigan did not. And unless the Playoff Committee is made up of people from Ann Arbor, there’s no way they’re putting a two-loss non-conference champion ahead of a two-loss conference champion.

The only debate people should have regarding Penn State is whether they should be a playoff team — it’s a genuine question too. Penn State has a better resume than Washington, and Clemson, plus they have two things that Ohio State doesn’t — a conference title and a head-to-head win. This Penn State team also has the look and feel of the 2014 Buckeyes win, which means that someone’s bound to be 2014 TCU.

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Whatever the playoff committee decides, this is bound to be the most controversial Top 4 yet.