So if you had the Cubs going to the World Series and Penn State over Ohio State tonight, congrats, and I’d like to spend some time on your new yacht the size of Vermont.
But here we are, Penn State as 24-21 victors over the Buckeyes in the most shocking result of this current college football season, without question.
It all came about in the unlikeliest of ways, PSU dead to rights, scoring 17 unanswered in the fourth quarter buoyed by a 60 yard field goal block and return by Grant Haley (future trivia question answer … it was that big), and the Big Ten’s most dominant program went down for the count.
It means everything, but then again, it means nothing.
First, the “everything” portion of it, because PSU as a program sorely needed this win. It was James Franklin’s first top 10 pelt in his career, partially erasing a bugaboo about his record against teams his clubs aren’t supposed to defeat. In the “Penn State is back!” discussion, this would be Exhibit A.
Their defensive line dominated the OSU offensive line with a cadre of confusing blitzes that were never adjusted to, and whether it’s a function of the OSU receivers or the PSU coverage, the Nittany Lions rendered the Buckeyes as a team with no hope past 15 yards, continually taking away the deep ball as the Bucks couldn’t get open.
So in the lexicon of program building, yes, it mattered.
Now, for the Buckeyes, and the part that hurts, but doesn’t matter.
The CFB Playoff has rendered mere losses as either opportunities to get more resolved and better, or at worst, fodder for a do-over later on.
The reality is, if the Buckeyes, for all their flaws tonight, win out, they’re going to the playoffs. Yes, it was ugly. Yes, the offensive line got dominated for the majority of the game. Yes, the kicking game showed warts. Yes, the receivers couldn’t find any open grass down field. Yes, J.T. Barrett was harassed all night.
But yes, it also doesn’t really matter because these are the CFB Playoffs.
As much as the loss sucks, as much as it’s going to give Penn State some life, as much as you want to juxtapose this game with Michigan’s thrashing of the Nittany Lions … if OSU wins out, they’re playing for all the marbles.
What that mostly means is, win The Game, and they’re right where they want to be, only with one more loss than comfortable. It might mean seeding. It might not.
Saturday night meant everything and nothing to the two programs involved. This is what we signed up for.
