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Penn State defeats Wisconsin, becomes Big Ten champions

AP photo Penn State celebrates after a 38-31 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship NCAA college football game Saturday, in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS — If a writer tried to submit a screenplay of this Penn State season for a movie, he’d probably get laughed at for it being too unbelievable.

The Nittany Lions pulled off a remarkable comeback late Saturday night to beat Wisconsin, 38-31, and win the Big Ten championship at Lucas Oil Stadium. Penn State trailed 28-7 early on before staging a remarkable rally that stunned the then-No. 6 Badgers.

The Nittany Lions had a chance to be selected Sunday to the College Football Playoff but were beat out by Washington for the final spot sending Penn

State to No. 5.

Although Penn State didn’t snatch a playoff spot, the team did have an impressive season. According to ESPN, after Penn State started the season 2-2, its chances of winning the Big Ten title were a minuscule 0.09 percent.

Nine consecutive wins later, there’s not a team in the country that has defied the odds more than the Lions. They were 21-point underdogs against Ohio State on Oct. 23 and trailed that game, 21-7, before rallying for a 24-21 victory.

The wins just kept on coming, but down 28-7 Saturday night, it appeared Penn State’s good fortune had run out.

Trace McSorley then performed his magic act and finished the night completing 22-of-31 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns.

At one point in the second half, McSorley had completed nine consecutive passes for 241 yards and four scores.

Penn State took the lead for good on an 18-yard TD pass from McSorley to Saquon Barkley with 13:41 left to play, making it 35-31. The Lions added a field goal to go up seven, then had to hold off the Badgers.

Wisconsin drove deep into Penn State territory with less than two minutes remaining. On fourth-and-1 from the 24, Grant Haley and Marcus Allen stuffed running back Corey Clement for no gain to stop the drive and seal the win.

“Brent Pry, our defensive coordinator, has done an unbelievable job all year long,” coach James Franklin said. “But it always comes down to our players. Our players believe … They have faith in what we’re doing, and when you have that, you can have special things.”

Penn State will play USC in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2.

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