Penn State Breaks Records in Big Ten Win Over Wisconsin

(CBSNews) INDIANAPOLIS - Trace McSorley threw four touchdown passes and No. 8 Penn State stunned No. 6 Wisconsin 38-31 in college football Saturday night, overcoming a 21-point first-half deficit in the greatest comeback in Big Ten title game history.

Penn State (11-2, No. 6 CFP) won its first conference title in eight years. The Nittany Lions must wait to see if the selection committee rewards them with one of the four coveted playoff spots Sunday.

Penn State trailed 28-7 with 5:15 left in the first half, but McSorley led the Nittany Lions to touchdowns on each of its next four possessions, finally taking a 35-31 lead on an 18-yard pass to Saquon Barkley with 13:41 left.

Things looked bleak early, but McSorley repeatedly burned the nation’s No. 3 defense with long passes on a record-breaking night.

McSorley finished 22 of 31 for 384 yards. The yardage and TD passes were both Big Ten championship game records. He also broke the school’s single-season records for yards passing and touchdown passes. And he wasn’t the only one to have a memorable performance. Saeed Blacknall caught six passes, two for touchdowns, and finished with a championship-game record 155 yards.

CBSSports.com’s Tom Fornelli and Adam Silverstein write that most experts expect the top current playoff rankings to remain the same, with the top 4 in order being Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington. 

However, CBSSports.com’s experts write they want to see Penn State given a shot, and not just because they already beat Ohio State this season, but also because “It just seems somewhat illogical that a team that couldn’t win its own conference should be allowed to play for a national title over the team that did.”