The Penn State Nittany Lions once again played a spectacular second half of football on Saturday night to clinch the Big Ten Championship with a victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in a 38-31 thriller. 

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More than half of the 65,018 fans in attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana were Penn State fans. The Badgers started the game with complete control, as they forced the Nittany Lions to a three and out to start the game, then immediately drove down the field and scored a touchdown to break out to an early 7-0 lead. By the end of the first half, the Nittany Lions trailed 14-28 after an important touchdown on a 40-yard connection from quarterback Trace McSorley to receiver Saeed Blacknall with just 58 seconds left in the half. From this point on, the Nittany Lions torched the Badger defense in big ways. Blacknall caught another touchdown, this time from a remarkable 70 yards from the end zone. Penn State’s star running back, Saquon Barkley, added two touchdowns of his own with a one yard run and a huge 18-yard reception from McSorley, to ultimately give the Nittany Lions their first, and final, lead of the game. From here, the Lions added a 24-yard field goal from Tyler Davis to give Penn State a seven-point cushion with just 5:14 left in the game. The Lions came back out on defense and stopped the Badgers, only to get the ball back and run down the clock until the celebration began. McSorley finished with 384 passing yards and four touchdown passes, both Big Ten Championship records. Blacknall’s 155 receiving yards set a Big Ten Championship record as well.

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As for Penn State, the College Football Playoff committee did not believe that the Big Ten Championship victory was enough to earn a spot in this year’s playoff. However, the 5th ranked Nittany Lions will instead play in the 103rd Rose Bowl, the “Granddaddy of Them All,” against the Trojans of the University of Southern California. USC is currently ranked number nine in the College Football Playoff Ranking, and they currently hold a 9-3 record including an impressive win against fourth ranked Washington. This is the 10th meeting between the two teams, the first since the 2009 Rose Bowl when USC defeated the Nittany Lions 38-24 under Pete Carroll, the current head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. This will be Penn State’s fourth Rose Bowl ever and their third against the Trojans. The Lions look to improve to 2-2 in their Rose Bowl history on Monday, January 2nd in Pasadena, California.