Save for an epic collapse, or the game of J.T. Barrett’s life, Penn State may well have been in the college football playoff in the 2017-18 season.
In this installment of our ongoing series, we look back at the Nittany Lions’ titanic clash with the Buckeyes and examine what exactly went wrong.
Penn State entered the contest at 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation, while the Buckeyes found themselves at No. 6 with a 6-1 record following an early season loss to the Baker Mayfield-led Oklahoma Sooners.
The game started as well as Penn State could’ve possibly hoped for, as Saquon Barkley received the open kickoff and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown, silencing a full house at the horseshoe.