APPLICATION » 6 of the third period, when he tipped a shot

INDIANAPOLIS -- ?When the top four teams won this weekend, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee won a reprieve. The 12 representatives who will bask in the glow of their computer screens on Selection Day dont have to choose among equals.One can argue that No. 4 Washingtons 41-10 rout of No. 8 Colorado, coupled with No. 3 Clemsons 42-35 defeat of No. 23 Virginia Tech, means that the Huskies and Tigers should switch. But its hard to argue against rewarding the only four Power 5 teams that finished the season with one loss or fewer.No. 7 Penn State can make a compelling case, given that it won the Big Ten by a score of 38-31 over No. 6 Wisconsin on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium and defeated No. 2 Ohio State during the regular season. But the Buckeyes wont be the first team to lose and advance beyond a team that beat them.Florida State won the 1993 wire-service national championship over Notre Dame, a result that will send former Irish head coach Lou Holtzs blood pressure off the chart to this day. Seven years later, the Seminoles lost to Miami yet finished ahead of the Hurricanes in the BCS standings. It didnt help the young BCS credibility when Oklahoma pounded Florida State in the national championship game.Now, in Year 3, the credibility of the College Football Playoff will be tested on Selection Day. Those of us who like sports because there are clear-cut winners and losers hoped for no upsets and hoped the committee wouldnt have to make an impossible decision. After Penn State won Saturday night, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany refused the opportunity to pick among his constituents.I dont know what it means, Delany said. Is the Clemson game over?The Tigers had won.All the votes are in, Delany said. Ill be watching like everybody else.If No. 5 Michigan is mad about playing in the Capital One Orange Bowl, then the Wolverines should have done better than 2-2 on the road.Penn State could, like No. 10 USC, make a case that it is one of the four best teams in the country on Dec. 3. Picture a world, if you will, in which the roles this weekend were reversed. Penn State would be No. 2 and Wisconsin No. 5, and No. 6 Ohio State would play No. 7 Michigan for the Big Ten Championship. Does anyone think that Big Ten champion would be left out of the playoff?When the commissioners assembled the playoff four years ago, Delany pushed for the field to be the four best conference champions. He lost that argument. The College Football Playoff is trying to identify the four best teams based on -- all together now -- their entire body of work.That means games in September matter. Thats why Stanford didnt make the playoff a year ago, after it lost to Northwestern on Labor Day weekend. Penn State lost to Pitt 39-36 in Week 2, which should bring a warm feeling to every Panther fan of a certain age who wants to resurrect the once-bitter annual rivalry with the Nittany Lions. Hey, Pitt, you just cost Penn State a shot at the national championship.The Nittany Lions mostly chose to not make their case for the playoff. The players did so with a smile. Junior middle linebacker Jason Cabinda, asked if he had any doubt that Penn State is one of the four best teams in the nation, said, Thats what I believe. We can hang with anybody in the country. No doubt.Thats where he stopped.Well hear whats announced, Cabinda said. Well be really appreciative of that opportunity. We cant wait to play that next game, regardless of who its against.The head coach spoke up a little more, which James Franklin does with the way he breathes. Its an involuntary muscular contraction.Every time I turn on the TV or read an article, people said this year the Big Ten Conference was by far the strongest conference in college football, Franklin said. Ive heard that over and over again. We just won the Big Ten Conference championship. ... So I think we can make a great case for ourselves.Barring a change of heart by the selection committee, Penn State will play in the Rose Bowl, the first prize among consolation prizes. It pains me to type that sentence.But there is, as Franklin went on to say, a lot to celebrate. Penn State won its first Big Ten championship since 2008 -- a lifetime ago if youre a Nittany Lion. Everyone in the Happy Valley was a lot younger then.The discord and travails of the past five years in State College might be why this team becomes as beloved as the 1992 Kentucky basketball team, the Unforgettables, the Wildcats who lost to Duke and Christian Laettners buzzer-beater in a regional final. All Kentucky had to overcome was NCAA probation.The Nittany Lions displayed a microcosm of their entire season: they started slow, falling behind the Badgers 28-7 in the second quarter. But once Penn State got a little momentum, the Nittany Lions couldnt be stopped. Quarterback Trace McSorley threw for 384 yards, a personal best and a Big Ten Championship Game record, and four touchdowns, also a game record.We dont want to be a second-half team, senior receiver DaeSean Hamilton said after the game. Thats just how things worked out for us all season. ... We never had a sense of panic. Thats what makes this team special.This year, that will have to be enough. This year, it just might be. Antonee Robinson Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Justin Morrow USA Jersey . 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Bell scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and Indiana State pulled away in the second half in a 63-52 win over Northern Illinois on Wednesday night.Brenton Scott added 14 points and Everett Clemons finished with 12 points for the Sycamores (3-4). Indiana State was on point defensively for much of the night, holding the Huskies to just 34.6 percent shooting and 18.8 percent from 3-point range.Northern Illinois (4-4) led 26-24 at the half but Indiana Staate quickly seized the lead on a Matt Van Scyoc 3-pointer just 46 seconds into the second half and never trailed again.dddddddddddd Bell layup with 9:20 to go pushed the lead past double figures, and a Clemons layup three minutes later made it a game-high 13 (51-38).Justin Thomas was the lone player in double figures for Northern Illinois, finishing with 14 points. ' ' '