College Football Playoff Projections: Penn State Moves Up

The unbeaten Nittany Lions hold a strong position in the latest College Football Playoff models.

Penn State students cheer on the Nittany Lions during the second quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State climbed into the top 5 of the college football rankings this week, reaching its highest spot since the 2021 season. The No. 4 Nittany Lions are one of 12 unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS and the only team to go 5-0 in each of the past four seasons. So they're trending, which the latest College Football Playoff projections indicate.

According to the ESPN College Football Power Index, Penn State's chances to reach the 12-team playoff increased from 60.1 percent to 63.7 percent following its 27-11 win over UCLA and the concurrent chaos of last weekend. For Penn State coach James Franklin, another 5-0 start is something to embrace.

"When you are able to say you're the only team in the country that has started 5-0 four straight years, when you're able to say those types of things, to me that's impactful," Franklin said this week. "I want the staff to understand that, and I want the players to understand that. Consistency is something that everybody is working for and is hard to do. I think this week was a really good example of that."

As a result, Penn State was rewarded in the latest round of College Football Playoff projections. But that could change if the Nittany Lions don't continue their run Saturday at USC.

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From ESPN, Penn State gets a pair of home playoff games. Kyle Bonagura projects the Nittany Lions as the No. 6 seed and hosting Boise State. Mark Schlabach eyes a 7-10 game at Beaver Stadium between Penn State and Tennessee.

Yahoo Sports also likes Penn State hosting Tennessee in December for a 6-11 game at Beaver Stadium.

CBS Sports' Brad Crawford, who calls Penn State "not one college football's sexiest unbeatens," nevertheless projects the Nittany Lions hosting Miami in an 8-9 game.

Action Network's Brett McMurphy brings LSU to Beaver Stadium for a 6-11 game. His No. 12 seed is Army.

At The Athletic, Stewart Mandel is the first to project Penn State to host Alabama in a 6-11 game. The Crimson Tide last visited Beaver Stadium in 2011. Meanwhile, The Athletic's CFP model, overseen by Austin Mock, projects Penn State hosting Clemson in a 6-11 game.

USA Today's Erick Smith has Penn State hosting Miami and winning to face Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports is an outlier, sending Penn State on the road to face Iowa State as a No. 9 seed.

And Andy Staples of On3 brings Texas A&M to Beaver Stadium for a 6-11 game against the Nittany Lions.

But first, Penn State visits USC on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. CBS will televise.

More Penn State Football

"Punishing" has been a theme for Penn State's offense this season

James Franklin says Penn State's 5-0 start has been "impactful." Now comes the hard part

The Nittany Lions open as road favorites over USC

Final takeaways from Penn State's win over UCLA