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College Football Playoff Rankings: Where Penn State Stands in the First Rankings

The Nittany Lions are No. 6 in the first rankings, which would mean a home playoff game in December at Beaver Stadium.

Mark Wogenrich

Penn State coach James Franklin looks to the scoreboard during a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State coach James Franklin looks to the scoreboard during a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The College Football Playoff committee Tuesday released its first rankings of the 2024 season and retained a soft spot for Penn State. The Nittany Lions came in at No. 6 in the inaugural rankings, keeping them on course to host a first-round game in December at Beaver Stadium. And if the first rankings hold, Penn State's opponent could be Notre Dame, which is 10th in the first rankings.

Penn State (7-1) is among four Big Ten teams in the top 10, joining No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 9 Indiana. The Nittany Lions were three spots ahead of the Hoosiers, who are among just four remaining unbeaten teams in the Power 4. Penn State also landed ahead of Tennessee, which selection committee chair, and Michigan athletic director, Warde Manuel explained on a conference call Monday night.

"Penn State lost to the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, and it was a game that went back and forth, and obviously a game that could have gone the other way. It was back and forth," Manuel said. "
In that, they have wins over Illinois and Southern Cal in overtime, an opening win at West Virginia, which is difficult to play. So we looked at their body of work. Tennessee has an impressive win over Alabama at No. 11 and wins over North Carolina State and Oklahoma, 4-1 against teams above .500. The loss at Arkansas was something that we discussed a lot.

"So looking at the resume, looking at what we've seen, the offensive performance, their tight end Tyler Warren is a dominating force on offense. So I just think Penn State, in terms of their body of work and what the committee saw in terms of their body of work, that came to the ranking of Penn State at 6 and Tennessee at 7."

However, it's instructive to note that the playoff rankings and tournament seeds in December will be different. The top four conference champions will receive first-round byes, and the losing teams of the Big Ten and SEC title games are projected to receive the fifth and sixth playoff seeds. That's why BYU is ninth in the rankings but projected as No. 4 in the playoff seeds as the potential Big 12 champion. Thus, Penn State would be seeded No. 7 for the 12-team tournament, potentially to face Notre Dame at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State has been a firm playoff contender all season, which the first rankings underscored. 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 does not play Oregon or Indiana during the regular season. The Nittany Lions close with four games against Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland.

"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, "and we’ve got to do a great job of making the corrections, eliminating the things that were unforced errors that happened today, and then we’ve got to find a way to get a win next week at home, and everything is still in front of us."

Penn State found a good spot in the first rankings, though they will be fluid. The Nittany Lions don't have much opportunity to improve their placement since they don't play a ranked team in the season's final four weeks. Meanwhile, Ohio State and Indiana play in Columbus on Nov. 23.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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