I am so proud of my school and our football team for winning the B1G East division championship. We had a pretty rough beginning of the season (losing to Pitt by three points and being crushed by Michigan in Ann Arbor) and nobody expected us to pull of this division win. I remember being at the Ohio State game and all of us thought we would not win the game. When we pulled out that win, I knew Penn State Football was back and it would be back for good. We remained undefeated in Beaver Stadium, our only two losses were in the beginning of the season, and they were away games, so why doesn’t the College Football Playoff Committee want to rank us higher than we are?

Ohio State is ranked in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings. I know Ohio State has only had one loss and we have had two but Ohio State lost to us. If Ohio State lost to a team, why are they ahead of them? I know Ohio State is an amazing team, but they did not win their division – we did. I also heard there is talk of moving Michigan up in the rankings. Michigan came in behind us and Ohio State. Michigan had two B1G losses and one of them was Iowa who we crushed. I know these two football teams are amazing, but we won our East division fair and square and they lost.

Some other people like to argue that Penn State lost to Pitt and that is why we should not be ranked in the top four, even if we beat Wisconsin. Are we forgetting who Clemson lost to? Clemson lost to Pitt and it may have only been by one point, but it was still a lost and Clemson is still ranked in the top four for the playoffs. I know Pitt was their only loss but saying, “Penn State should not go to the playoffs because they lost to Pitt,” doesn’t make sense because then I could say, “Clemson should not go to the playoffs because they lost to Pitt.” I would never say this because Clemson is an amazing football team and they deserve to play in the playoffs.

I hope the Playoff Committee can see how far we have come. I know that there are a lot of other teams out there who may have played better than us this season and may be great additions to the College Football Playoffs, but I hope everyone can see how far Penn State has come this year. The sanctions were placed on us and nobody thought that we would succeed for years to come, if we ever did again. It has only been five short years and we have won the B1G East division. I hope people can realize how much Penn State deserves this. I am not just saying this because I am a student here but because I have seen how far we have come over this short period of time. No matter what happens, I am proud of my school, but I truly hope we can prove to everyone that, “may no act of ours bring shame,” and that we are back and better than ever. WE ARE!