One-on-One: Who should be the 4th CFP team?

Penn State

By Nick Konow

The Penn State Nittany Lions, who are currently 10-2 and the 7th-ranked team in the country, will be the last team in the College Football Playoff when the final standings are released on Sunday. The team should take on the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide for a chance to go to the National Championship.

Before the Nittany Lions can get there, they first need to claim the Big 10 Championship. They can and will do this by beating the 6th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Big 10 has no doubt been the best conference in college football this year, and if Penn State wins the Big 10 Championship, there is no reason they should not be included in the playoff.

The Nittany Lions are on an eight-game win streak since losing to Michigan in Ann Arbor in September and have a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are the second best team in the nation. Their only other loss was to number 24 Pittsburgh in week two. However, Pitt has had a knack for knocking off highly-ranked opponents, and showed that when they beat the third-ranked Clemson Tigers two weeks ago.

After sitting on the hot seat earlier in the year, head coach James Franklin has done a fantastic job of revitalizing the program and has one of the most potent offenses in college football led by sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley.

The whole reason for integrating the playoff system and having a committee decide the teams participating was to ensure the four best teams would compete for the National Championship. Josh thinks Michigan, who has lost two of its last three games, deserves the last spot over Penn State. He could not be more wrong.

Michigan has a large fan base and a rich football history which will bring in ratings, but that is not a reason for them to claim the final spot over a Penn State team that is more deserving.

Michigan

By Josh Nelson

The chance to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff was in Michigan’s hands. However, the loss to Ohio State last Saturday put them in a position where they might not end up being one of the final four teams. It doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be, though.

Michigan has one of the most impressive resumes in the nation by far. Their worst blemish came in a tough road matchup against Iowa where they lost on a last second field goal. Their second loss was this past weekend against Ohio State in Columbus. It was a game that went to double OT and also featured some controversial calls favoring the Buckeyes.

When looking at the wins by the Wolverines, they’ve taken care of the teams they should pummel. They beat Hawaii by 60, Rutgers by 78 and Maryland by 56. They beat Colorado pretty handily 45-28, a team playing for the Pac 12 Championship this weekend.

Further, Michigan beat the two teams playing for the Big 10 Championship this weekend. They destroyed Penn State 49-10, and although the game against Wisconsin was close on the scoreboard, the Wolverines thoroughly dominated that game in yards gained and time of possession.

Nick thinks Penn State should make it if they were to win the Big 10 Championship over Wisconsin. He couldn’t be more wrong. Michigan put a thumping on Penn State. Why should they be in over the Wolverines? Use some common sense, Nick.