Work colleague/friend, know him for 10+ yrs, great guy (despite the OSU background).
He honestly and somewhat sheepishly admitted that PSU should have won the game Saturday night and, by the "eye-test" was every bit the equal of Ohio St. He pointed to several plays (Miles NOT fumbling, Young NOT batting down that 4th and 1 ball, Hip making the catch that would have been a 1st down w/about 4 mins left, etc) that, had they gone PSU's way, would almost certainly have meant victory for the Lions.
He also expects PSU to make the playoff. All it will take is 1) PSU winning out, which is not a stretch by any means and 2) some teams ranked ahead of us losing. Looking at the teams ranked ahead of PSU right now, I think he's right. As Inigo Montoya would say, let me splane:
Very good bet that Bama/Georgia/LSU/Auburn cannibalize themselves, with only Bama undefeated at seasons end-they're in. OSU is not losing again-they're in. Clemson needs to lose and I think they will; they certainly didn't look that great against Syracuse (forgot the QB situation, their D was nothing special). ND needs to lose but that probably won't happen, they're in. OU needs to lose and there is a good chance that happens as they barely beat Army and still need to play Texas/TCU/OK St/WVU. WVU will lose a game somewhere along the line. PSU winning out means they jump Washington given the fact that PSU, if they win out, will have several wins against ranked teams and far and away the best loss in the country.
So, the playoff teams are - Bama, OSU, ND and Penn State - mark it down, its happening.