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On the Books: Unknown identity adds mystery to Neapolitan Novels

Chief confirms shots fired at NY mall; no injuries reported

<p>The date was Oct. 19, 1985.</p><p>No. 2 Michigan &#8212; quarterbacked by Jim Harbaugh, no less &#8212; lost 12-10 to top-ranked Iowa. No. 3 Oklahoma fell to Miami 27-14. And No. 4 Arkansas was edged by Texas 15-13.</p><p>That was the last time the second, third, and fourth-ranked teams in the country all lost on the same day in the regular season.</p><p>Sitting at No. 6 on that day? Penn State. The Nittany Lions survived a 24-20 scare on the road at Syracuse.</p><p>It was a week that ultimately allowed Penn State to reach the national championship game.</p><p>Thirty-one years later, that same door has, unbelievably, opened up for the Lions once again.</p><p>No. 2 Clemson lost 43-42 on a last-second field goal to Pitt. No. 3 Michigan also watched an unranked opponent make a kick at the end to win as Iowa stunned the Wolverines 14-13. And the third unbeaten, No. 4 Washington, couldn&#8217;t handle resurgent USC in Seattle, falling 26-13.</p><p>Back at No. 10 was Penn State, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/top-stories/606245/psu-report-card-lions-survive-injuries-tough-test-from-hoosiers-to-win-sixth-straight" target="_blank">pulling out a 45-31 win at Indiana</a> to improve to 8-2, creating a three-way tie atop the Big Ten East with Michigan and Ohio State.</p><p>The Wolverines&#8217; loss to a team the Lions had thrashed just a week earlier opened up a legitimate route for Penn State to reach the Big Ten title game on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis. Win that, and a berth in the College Football Playoff becomes possible.</p><p>New CFP rankings will be released Tuesday evening. On Sunday, Penn State moved up four spots to No. 10 in the coaches poll and three spots to No. 9 in the AP poll.</p><p>First thing&#8217;s first. The Lions &#8212; battered up front with mounting injuries on the offensive line &#8212; must beat Rutgers (2-8, 0-7) on the road next week and Michigan State (3-7, 1-6) at home on Thanksgiving weekend.</p><p>Then, to earn the tiebreaker and win the East Division, the Lions must have Michigan lose one more game, either to Indiana (5-5, 3-4) or to Ohio State (9-1, 6-1) in Columbus.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re looking at a situation where Penn State &#8212; who went into this week top 10 but the fourth-ranked of the Big Ten teams &#8212; may be in as good of shape as anybody to get to Indianapolis,&#8221; FOX Sports analyst Stewart Mandel said on Saturday night&#8217;s wrap-up show.</p><p>&#8220;Penn State,&#8221; ESPN&#8217;s Kirk Herbstreit said on his network&#8217;s late show, &#8220;is in the driver&#8217;s seat.&#8221;</p><p>Indeed, ESPN&#8217;s Football Power Index &#8212; &#8220;a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team&#8217;s performance going forward&#8221; &#8212; now has the Lions as the favorite to win the Big Ten East at 46 percent, ahead of Michigan (43) and Ohio State (11).</p><p>And if the Lions can get to the conference title game, anything would be possible. Even a shot at a national title.</p><p>Wisconsin, which is ranked ahead of Penn State in all polls, is the heavy favorite to win the West Division. An 11-2 Penn State or an 11-2 Wisconsin as Big Ten champion would have one more top-10 win to boost their resume to the selection committee.</p><p>Thanks to Saturday&#8217;s chaos, the likelihood of a two-loss team qualifying for the first time in the Playoff&#8217;s brief existence shot way up.</p><p>Not that James Franklin is letting his players think about it.</p><p>&#8220;Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers,&#8221; the Penn State coach wrote on Twitter minutes after Michigan&#8217;s stunning loss. &#8220;Complete focus on Rutgers, nothing else!&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Iowa linebacker Aaron Mends celebrates with fans after the Hawkeyes shocked undefeated Michigan on a last-second field goal on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_AP16318181632564201611131218852-7.jpg</photo0><caption0>Iowa linebacker Aaron Mends celebrates with fans after the Hawkeyes shocked undefeated Michigan on a last-second field goal on Saturday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Charlie Neibergall | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> mo8NhGGHumA</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo8NhGGHumA</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> ESPN, Big Ten</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

College chaos: Upsets give Penn State a shot at a Big Ten title — and more