Penn State Debuts at No. 11 in College Football Playoff Rankings

The first CFP rankings feature three Big Ten teams, including No. 1 Ohio State.

Penn State landed at No. 11 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of 2023, setting itself up to need a major late-season push to secure its first playoff appearance. The Nittany Lions (7-1) kicked off the season four spots higher than they did in 2022, when they ultimately finished at No. 11 on Selection Sunday.

Penn State is the Big Ten's No. 3 team in the first CFP rankings behind Ohio State (No. 1) and Michigan (No. 3). No other Big Ten teams made the first set of rankings.

Penn State has one regular-season game remaining against a ranked team: Nov. 11 at home against Michigan. The Lions' schedule currently includes only two ranked teams: Ohio State and Michigan.

Penn State made its 31st appearance in the CFP rankings since 2014. The Lions' highest ranking is No. 4, which it achieved in Week 1 of the 2019 season.

The Nittany Lions will visit Maryland on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on FOX.

THE FIRST CFP RANKINGS OF THE SEASON ARE HERE 🤩 pic.twitter.com/qQVXIFvamL

— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2023

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