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 beat Big 10 champ Penn State 49-10 and took OhioSt to 2 OTs at OhioSt. Michigan is one of the four best teams in the country.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 4, 2016
Michigan beat the Big Ten Champions by 39.
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) December 4, 2016
The Big 10 championship was played last week with Ohio State and Michigan in my opinion
— Christian Kirksey (@Kirko58) December 4, 2016
Time for Michigan to consider leaving the Big Ten. This conference has jumped the shark
— Meeechigan Man (@DaVictors97) December 4, 2016
We beat 3 top ten teams including @B1Gfootball champs but won't go to @CFBPlayoff because they fixed the Michigan vs OSU game? BS! #GoBlue
— MichiganNation2 (@MichiganNation2) December 4, 2016
RT if you truly believe Michigan DESERVES to be in the College Football Playoff
— sil (@DETGoBlue) December 4, 2016
Because it's coming from this account it'll look biased, but I genuinely believe Michigan is the only team in America that can hang w/ Bama.
— UofM Nation (@UofM_Nation_) December 4, 2016
Remember when Michigan beat Rutgers 78-0. Washington only beat Rutgers 48-13. Michigan > Washington
— Jared Goff Stan Account (@PatEdwardHagan) December 4, 2016
Ohio State and Michigan are both 3-1 against top 10 teams this year. Don't talk to me about Penn State getting in over either.
— By Any Means Necessary (@SonOfShabazz) December 4, 2016
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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