College Football Playoff: Which Top 25 teams are contenders, pretenders?
After losing a shootout to USC in the 2017 Rose Bowl, Penn State’s 2017 season has been off to an amazing start.
Led by junior phenom running back Saquon Barkley, head coach James Franklin’s team is one of the most veteran squads in all of college football and boasts both a top-20 offense and a top-20 defense.
The aforementioned Barkley has arguably been the best player in all of college football and has assisted Penn State’s offense in outscoring opponents 162-33, including a 21-19 victory over Iowa in which Barkley broke the school’s all-purpose yards in a single game record with 358.
In addition to Barkley, Joe Moorhead’s offense also has a number of quality receivers at quarterback Trace McSorley’s disposal, including Juwan Johnson, DaeSean Hamilton and top-ranked tight end Mike Gesicki.
On defense, the Nittany Lions’ squad has built an impressive unit at all three levels that is capable of making big plays in their own right, including 12 sacks, six interceptions and a nation-leading 41 tackles for loss.
The Nittany Lions are considered by many to be the jewel in the Big Ten’s crown, and if it can weather a two-week winner-take-all tour de force following its bye week against undefeated No. 8 Michigan, and No. 11 Ohio State, the team will have proved that it belongs in its second consecutive Big Ten Championship, and its first trip to the College Football Playoff.