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No. 8 Penn St. rallies to beat No. 6 Wisconsin 38-31

Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (26) makes an 18-yard touchdown catch against Wisconsin's T.J. Watt (42) during the second half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AJ Mast / Associated Press)
By Michael Marot Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Trace McSorley threw four touchdown passes Saturday night and No. 8 Penn State stunned No. 6 Wisconsin 38-31, rallying from a 21-point first-half deficit to claim its first conference title in eight years with the greatest comeback in Big Ten title game history.

Now the East Division champs must wait to see if the selection committee rewards them with one of the four coveted playoff spots on Sunday.

If the committee was impressed with the turnaround, it just might give the Nittany Lions (11-2, No. 7 CFP) a chance.

They trailed 28-7 with 5:15 left in the first half, but McSorley led Penn State to touchdowns on each of its next four possessions, finally taking a 35-31 lead on an 18-yard TD pass to Saquon Barkley with 13:41 left in the game. The Nittany Lions never trailed again.

Coach James Franklin thinks that should be good enough.

“What I do know is that we just won the toughest conference in college football,” Franklin shouted to the raucous celebration inside Lucas Oil Stadium. “We’ve won nine straight. They say you’re allowed to overcome early setbacks. We’ve done that. It’s on you now, the committee.”

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 and was named the game’s MVP. 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.

“Everything came together that second quarter and we kept it going the rest of the game,” McSorley said.

Wisconsin (10-3, No. 6) played without starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook but still jumped to a 28-7 lead behind Corey Clement, who ran 21 times for 164 yards including a 67-yard TD run in the first quarter.

But the Badgers’ usually stout defense allowed a season-high point total and allowed the Nittany Lions to score on each of their last six possessions.

Their final chance ended when Clement was stopped short of a first down on fourth-and-1 from the Penn State 24-yard line with 1:01 to play.

“I thought the kids put it out there and played but obviously, didn’t make enough plays to win the game,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said.