Maligned.

There's no other word to describe a Penn State offensive line that struggled throughout key parts of the 2017 season, despite a bonafide Heisman candidate (Saquon Barkley) and a shifty veteran quarterback (Trace McSorley) to lead the way.

The Nittany Lions' offensive woes reared their ugly head in a 1-point road loss to Ohio State in Columbus, when Barkley was bottled up from any sort of running room. Granted, the Buckeyes put out a highly, highly talented defensive line, which complicated matters. And they came out again in a dumb, frustrating 3-point road loss to Michigan State that included a four-hour rain delay.

There were moments here and there, too, throughout the season, where Barkley would get stifled. Dropped for a loss. Have to run around a bit to even get back to the line of scrimmage. It wasn't the main reason, but the lack of production was certainly a contributing factor to Barkley finishing outside the top-3 of the Heisman voting, costing him a chance at the illustrious New York City ceremony.

Stinks, right?

Well, Penn State's offensive line - left tackle Will Fries, left guard Steven Gonzalez, center Connor McGovern, right guard Brendan Mahon and right tackle Ryan Bates - put a lot of that grousing to an end on Saturday night. Facing a load of a defensive tackle in Vita Vea and his formidable d-line teammates, Penn State's offensive line won the day. No other way to say it. Penn State beat Washington along the trenches, and it's why they won the Fiesta Bowl, 35-28.

"The o-line came out and played a special game," Saquon Barkley tells ESPN. — Roar Lions Roar (@RLRblog) December 31, 2017

Chasz Wright started at right tackle, with Bates eventually replacing Wright for good. The line opened holes in key spots for Barkley - including his transcendent, Fiesta-Bowl-record, silly-as-heck 92-yard touchdown run. The junior running back finished with 18 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns. All told, Barkley, McSorley and Sanders combined for 203 yards rushing against the No. 5 defense in the country.

When Barkley wasn't converting key first downs or breaking shock plays, the line was providing a mostly clean pocket for McSorley. Or, if McSorley had to climb the pocket or shift, he had some lanes to enter. He wasn't swallowed up, and it gave him time to loft some big bombs to the likes of DaeSean Hamilton and Mike Gesicki.

All in a day's work for a group that needed a big confidence boost. They needed to, well, kick some ass:

Ryan Bates on #PennState rushing for 200+ yards: "We did what we do best. Kick ass." — Andrew Callahan (@ACallahan_247) December 31, 2017

Man, that's one way of putting it. I like that way - and Penn State fans definitely do, too.