McSorley will pick up some hardware this year

McSorley scrambles against USC in the 2016 Rose Bowl game.

By Brandon Scalea

For the last two seasons, Penn State has knocked on the door but come up short.

This year, senior quarterback Trace McSorley will not only guide the Nittany Lions to college football's promised land, the four-team playoff, he will win the Heisman Trophy in the process.

The Vegas money line on McSorley to earn this hardware is currently +2700, so a conservative $20 bet would net $560. If you're in New Jersey or Delaware, where sports betting just became legal, I'd suggest looking into this.

Let's take a look at what the kid from Ashburn, Virginia has done in his first two years in Happy Valley. While he's certainly been overshadowed by the tremendous athlete that was Saquon Barkley, the quarterback emerged as one of the nation's finest dual-threats. While Penn State struggled with a subpar offensive line, McSorley still played a major role in a Big Ten title in 2016, resulting in being the first team out of that year's playoff. Last season, the Nittany Lions started 7-0 before dropping two consecutive road heartbreakers to Ohio State and Michigan State, respectively.

No single play defined McSorley's skill and football intelligence more than one that proved the difference in Iowa last season.

With the Hawkeyes clinging to a 19-15 lead with under 10 seconds to play over the then-undefeated Nittany Lions, PSU needed a miracle. On fourth and goal, with the rowdy Iowa crowd shaking the stadium, McSorley saw something he didn't like in the Hawkeye defense and made a quick adjustment. He quickly got the snap, took a two-step drop and fired the winning touchdown pass in the back of the end zone as time expired.

Barkley had been shut down virtually the whole game, so Penn State needed McSorley to come up huge. He rose to the challenge.

Last season, he completed 65 percent of his passes for over 3,200 yards. He threw 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His 2016 numbers were even better: 3,600 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Penn State has been on the rise the last two seasons and it's due in large part to the young man under center. He's got the same skill set as Baker Mayfield, last year's Heisman winner and this year's first overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The de facto Big Ten Championship will be the Sept. 29 showdown against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium. It will be the whiteout game, and Penn State fans might even break last year's attendance record — 110,000-plus in the whiteout against Michigan.

Let's see if McSorley's senior season will be his best yet.

Brandon Scalea can be reached at brandonscalea22@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonscalea.