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Penn State Football: The best teams to not have a chance to play for the Natty

By Joey Lovell

2 Jan 1995: Quarterback Kerry Collins and fullback Jon Witman of the Penn State Nittany Lions hug each other after the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Penn State won the game 38-20. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport
2 Jan 1995: Quarterback Kerry Collins and fullback Jon Witman of the Penn State Nittany Lions hug each other after the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Penn State won the game 38-20. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport /
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2 JAN 1995: PENN STATE RUNNING BACK KI-JANA CARTER CARRIES THE FOOTBALL FOR 83 YARDS AND A TOUCH DOWN. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell/ALLSPORT
2 JAN 1995: PENN STATE RUNNING BACK KI-JANA CARTER CARRIES THE FOOTBALL FOR 83 YARDS AND A TOUCH DOWN. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell/ALLSPORT /

Paterno’s, as well as Penn State’s, last undefeated team was the amazing 1994 squad. I’m going to cover this particular team in depth in the coming weeks, but here’s a quick overview.

Poor preseason poll ranking plagued the Nittany Lions as usual, as they started out 9th in the nation. However, obliterating each opponent allowed Penn State to eventually climb to #1 by week 7. They played #21 Ohio State and decimated the Buckeyes 63-14. Their reward? Dropping to #2 in the polls, surpassed by previous #3 Nebraska, who had beaten #2 Colorado 24-7.

How does a #1 ranked team destroy a ranked foe by SEVEN touchdowns, and fall a spot to a team ranked #3? As Tom Cruise said in “Top Gun: Maverick” “It’s one of life’s mysteries”.

After being screwed over in the polls yet again, Penn State football seemed to lose a bit of their fire, playing close games against Indiana and Illinois. Eventually they came out of their mini-slump and put away Northwestern and Michigan State to finish a perfect 11-0.

Nebraska played the University of Miami in the Orange Bowl on the night of New Year’s Day. Miami, with their vaunted defense featuring future Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, blew a 4th quarter lead to lose 24-17.

Playing in the second Rose Bowl in school history against the Oregon Ducks, Ki-Jana Carter took the opening handoff and raced away from the Oregon defense for an 80-yard touchdown run. Even with a mistake-filled first half, the Nittany Lions finished off the Ducks 38-20.

Their only hope was that there would be a split national championship. But that was not to be, as Nebraska was voted the undisputed National Champions by AP, FWAA, UPI, USA-CNN, USA-NFF.

What makes this snub so galling is that just a few years before there had been split champions when Washington and Georgia Tech shared the trophy in 1991. Then three seasons later, Michigan and Nebraska split the championship. How did the pollsters, in their infinite wisdom, decide not to do the same with Nebraska and Penn State?

Even though God must be a Penn State football fan since the sky is Blue and White, as history has shown, evidently the pollsters are not.

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