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READY FOR HIS CLOSE-UP n the days leading up to his team's recent appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game, Penn State coach James Franklin was asked to evaluate the matchup between the Nittany Lions' receivers and Wisconsin's defensive backs. Having already established itself as one of the nation's most dynamic offensive teams, particularly in the passing game, Penn State understood that its hopes would depend to a large extent on Trace McSorley's success at completing deep passes to a talented corps of wideouts. The Badgers, Franklin noted, were leading the country in interceptions, but the Nit- tany Lions were among the best in creat- ing explosive plays in the passing game. "They are experienced in the secondary, no doubt. I think we are talented at re- ceiver and tight end. We are experienced at receiver and tight end," Franklin said. "That will be a really interesting matchup in this game." In guiding the Lions to a 38-31 victory in Indianapolis, McSorley demonstrated precisely Franklin's point. Completing 22 of 31 passes for 384 yards and four touch- downs, he broke the game's yardage and touchdown records while furthering his ascent to the top of Penn State's own record books. It wasn't easy. The Nittany Lions had fallen behind by three touchdowns in the second quarter, putting McSorley, a red- shirt sophomore, in the position of hav- ing to engineer one of the great rallies in recent Penn State history in order to keep the game interesting. But he did just that, as the Lions outscored Wisconsin 31-3 over the final 31 minutes. It was the most impressive comeback in a season that's been full of them, and McSorley provided the spark, operating offensive coordina- tor Joe Moorhead's attack with unflinch- ing poise. "I was just trying to take what the de- fense was giving me, not force anything. Coach Moorhead just kept telling me to trust the system and trust the game plan," said McSorley, standing on the winner's podium. "Our receivers came to me and said, just keep trusting us. They were feeling confident. They were happy with what they were doing. I just kept trusting them. The offensive line was in- credible, gave us a ton of time. Every- thing came together in that second quarter and we were able to carry it on the rest of the game." Penn State's reward for its victory over Wisconsin is a Rose Bowl matchup with Pac-12 power Southern California. For the Nittany Lions to extend their winning streak, they will likely need McSorley to continue his upward trajectory. In the Big Ten Championship Game, one of the keys for Penn State was to use McSorley's versatility to create indecision in the Wisconsin secondary. If the defen- sive backs feared his ability to gain yards on the ground, they would have to step up | After a sizzling debut season as Penn State's starting QB, Trace McSorley prepares for the Rose Bowl spotlight P O S T S E A S O N P R E V I E W >> P E N N S T A T E C O V E R S T O R Y I

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