College Football Playoff Rankings: What Week 2 Means for Penn State

The Nittany Lions tied for their highest place in the CFP rankings as the 2024 regular season turns toward the finish line.

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren (44) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Huskies during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State's climbed to No. 4 in the second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, tying its highest place in the rankings' 11-year history. The Nittany Lions (8-1) were among four Big Ten teams in the top five, a cluster that likely will separate over the regular season's final three weeks.

Penn State's ranking, however, does not represent its potential seed in the College Football Playoff's 12-team field. The top four conference champions will receive the top four seeds and first-round byes. If it does not reach the Big Ten title game, Penn State's highest possible seed would be No. 5. But if the season ended with these rankings, Penn State would be the sixth seed and would host Ole Miss for a first-round playoff game at Beaver Stadium either Dec. 20 or 21. However, the season is certain to undergo significant change before the final playoff field is unveiled Dec. 8.

Though it likely won't rise much further in the CFP rankings, Penn State could fall over the regular season's final three weeks. The Nittany Lions play Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland. Minnesota, ranked 33rd in the ESPN Football Power Index, represents Penn State's best resume-building game, particularly since it's in Minneapolis. Purdue (109) and Maryland (60) won't help boost Penn State's playoff resume. However, Penn State does carry a top-20 strength of schedule into the regular season's final three weeks.

Penn State has been a firm playoff contender all season, which the first rankings underscored in early November. The Nittany Lions' lone loss was a one-possession decision against No. 2 Ohio State. However, Penn State does not have a win over a team currently in the CFP Top 25. Penn State also does not play Oregon or Indiana during the regular season.

"The reality of college football is, everything is still ahead of us," Penn State coach James Franklin said after the Nittany Lions' 20-13 loss to the Buckeyes.

The Nittany Lions visit Purdue on Saturday as a 28.5-point favorite over Purdue, according to DraftKings. The Boilermakers (1-8) have lost eight consecutive games since a season-opening win over Indiana State. They have been shut out in two of their past three games against Ohio State (45-0) and Oregon (35-0).

Oregon and Ohio State retained the first and second rankings, with Texas coming in at No. 3. Indiana is fifth. BYU, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Miami and Alabama rounded out the top 10.

Penn State has been ranked No. 4 once before, in the first rankings of the 2019 season. Penn State took an 8-0 record to Minnesota, where it fell 31-26 and dropped to No. 9 the following week.

During a teleconference Tuesday, CFP committee chair Warde Manuel described the weekly rankings process.

"We first start every week with a clean slate," Manuel said. "We look at the body of work up until that point of every team that we are considering, and obviously we can see when a team loses early or wins a big game early or loses late or wins a big game later in the season. We deal with it as it comes.
But there's really not a time where we give more credence to an early win or early loss over everything. We look at them as they come and judge them for where they are based on the body of work.

"With that, obviously teams can, as they play later in the season, if they win or lose, we factor that into how we evaluate them at that time. But I would just say we recognize it, but we take it and evaluate it by who they lose to, where is it in the season. Obviously we see that, but we look at it individually."

The newest CFP rankings have been released 👀📊

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— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 13, 2024

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.