No. 9 Penn State pulled out a thrilling 35-28 victory against No. 11 Washington in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions were prevailing-yet-imperfect against the Huskies until the very end. Penn State racked up 547 total yards of offense, but also committed three turnovers. For all those clamoring for an eight-team College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions are the epitome of what one of those teams would look like after capping another 11-win season under James Franklin.
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Penn State is exactly what an eight-team playoff team looks like. Is that what you want?
Its performance in the Fiesta Bowl showed why. It didn't take long for the Nittany Lions to bolt to an early lead. Quarterback Trace McSorley guided first-quarter touchdown drives. Saquon Barkley dove in the end zone for his first touchdown, then sprinted 92 yards for his second.
The Huskies faced a 14-0 deficit after running just six offensive plays.
The Nittany Lions clicked on all cylinders in compiling 367 first-half yards, which put to rest any notion that losing offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead to Mississippi State would be a major issue in this game. Five different players accounted for play of 20 yards or more, and McSorley was perfect on third down (12 of 12, 193 yards, two touchdowns). It was an unbelievable offensive performance.
But again, it was an imperfect performance. Three turnovers prevented this from ballooning into a full-fledged knockout. Washington trimmed the lead to seven points twice in the second half, and a false start penalty and missed field goal in the final minute even gave the Huskies one last chance. Of course, Washington ran that hook-and-ladder, but it didn't quite work.
Penn State played a New Year's Day Six thriller for the second straight season, this time coming out the winner. What does all that mean?
If you're a proponent of the eight-team playoff, then Penn State is the best example of a team you're fighting for. They were ranked No. 9, but it was clear through most of the season the Nittany Lions were one of the best teams in the country. Would you have taken No. 7 Auburn or No. 8 USC over Penn State if that really was the final decision? That would have been a heated debate at least in the same zip code as Alabama-Ohio State in the four-team world.
How much evidence do you need? The Nittany Lions stayed in the top five and jumped to No. 2 before a 39-38 loss at No. 6 Ohio State on Oct. 28 and a 27-24 loss at No. 24 Michigan State the following week (the latter game marred by a three-hour lightning delay). If any team were a victim of unfortunate circumstances, then it's Penn State. They lost two games by four points, and because of those two losses were never seriously considered through the playoff shuffle in November because of the Big Ten East restrictions.
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Picture this team in an eight-team playoff against No. 1 Clemson. That would be a fun matchup. Too bad you can't have it right now, but use this Penn State team in your arguments. It's a better example.
No. 5 Ohio State isn't that. Sure, the Buckeyes were the first team left out, and the Big Ten champions showed how good they were in a 24-7 victory against No. 8 USC in the Cotton Bowl. But the Buckeyes win that argument for the No. 4 spot against any other team not named Alabama. Expanding to an eight-team playoff isn't going to help a team like the Buckeyes, who don't need help to make the playoff. They've been there twice, and they played in three BCS championship games.
Remember, Ohio State got the nod over Penn State in 2016, too.
That Penn State team, which won the Big Ten championship, also would have been fun in an eight-team format. Use that team too, like you would the same USC team that beat them 52-49 in the Rose Bowl. These are the teams that benefit the most from playoff expansion.
Were the Nittany Lions good enough to be in the four-team playoff? No, and the Fiesta Bowl showed that. For all that offensive firepower, the Nittany Lions survived in a shootout this time. It's another building block for a program Franklin has done a masterful job putting back on the national stage.
That means finishing against Ohio State and Michigan State like they did Washington on Friday. That's the way of the four-team era, where you have to leave no doubt — unless you're the Buckeyes or Crimson Tide.
Until we get to eight teams, that's the prevailing-yet-imperfect world we live in.
