2016
Pittsburgh Panthers 42, Penn State Nittany Lions 39
Most of the games on this list either happened late in a given season or involved two CFP contenders. This one did neither. It was a Week 2 matchup of unranked teams boasting only moderate ambitions. But when Penn State ripped off 10 wins in its next 11 games -- including a home upset of No. 2 Ohio State and a Big Ten championship victory over No. 6 Wisconsin -- this one ended up giving the committee a tricky call: Should it select a one-loss Buckeyes team with wins over three top-10 (at the time) teams and a loss only to the Big Ten champ? Or should they absolve PSU of early losses to both Pitt and Michigan, reward it for late-season wins and break the two-loss barrier for the first time? They went with the former. In 10 years, they still haven't given a bid to a two-loss team.
Of course, the choice would have been pretty easy if a fourth down had been marked slightly differently in Columbus.
