Penn State moves up to No. 3 in College Football Playoff rankings. What it means for the Nittany Lions
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Big Ten championship game
Penn State is headed to Indianapolis to take on Oregon for the Big Ten title. Read below for everything you need to know before the game.
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Penn State moved up to No. 3 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings that came out Tuesday night, while also moving to the No. 5 seed in the bracket.
Here’s what the latest rankings mean for the Nittany Lions and the implications of Saturday’s Big Ten championship game against Oregon.
If Penn State wins ...
Then the Nittany Lions will either be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, and will have a bye into the quarterfinals where they’ll play in the Rose Bowl. This is the most definitive path that can come out of Saturday’s Big Ten championship game against Oregon because it nails down where the Nittany Lions will play, along with when. The only question would be about their seeding. If Texas were to beat Georgia, then it would be a toss-up for who gets the No. 1 seed and it could go to the Longhorns or the Nittany Lions. But if Georgia wins the SEC, then Penn State would very likely end up as the No. 1 overall seed because it would be 12-1 compared to the Bulldogs’ 11-2.
If Penn State loses...
Then the Nittany Lions’ first round matchup is in flux. It would be hard to imagine them falling below the No. 8 seed (the lowest seed to get a home game among teams who don’t win their conference) but that isn’t impossible — especially if the game is a blowout. Still, the most likely scenario would be Penn State being the highest-ranked team that didn’t win its conference, checking in as the No. 5 seed and hosting the lowest-ranked conference champion in the field on Dec. 20 or 21 at Beaver Stadium. Right now, that would be Arizona State and would also lead to a potential quarterfinal matchup with No. 4 seed Boise State. While no playoff game will be easy, that’s an ideal scenario for a team like Penn State that could lead to a semifinal appearance. The other possibility would be Penn State essentially dropping back to where it was the last few weeks and coming in as the No. 6 seed and hosting the No. 11 seed — and last at-large team in the field — for a first round matchup.
Big Ten is locked in with four teams
There was little doubt that this would be the case, but the Big Ten is locked in to having four teams in the first 12-team playoff. Penn State and Oregon are near guarantees to be top eight seeds, with one going to the Rose Bowl in the quarterfinals and the other hosting a first round matchup. Ohio State and Indiana, despite faltering in recent weeks, should also be guarantees to get in now that the penultimate rankings are out and neither team will be playing in the conference title game. Both are in the field, with the Hoosiers at the No. 10 seed and the Buckeyes at the No. 8 seed, and it’s unlikely the committee is going to move them too much based on conference championship weekend. Getting four teams in the field is a resounding success for the Big Ten — especially considering it would also be tied for the most teams by any conference as the field stands.
Here are the latest CFP rankings and projected matchups, in full.
First round
No. 5 seed Penn State vs. No. 12 seed Arizona State
No. 6 seed Notre Dame vs. No. 11 seed Alabama
No. 7 seed Georgia vs. No. 10 seed Indiana
No. 8 seed Ohio State vs. No. 9 seed Tennessee
Byes: No. 1 seed Oregon, No. 2 seed Texas, No. 3 seed SMU, No. 4 seed Boise State
College Football Playoff rankings
(Dec. 3, 2024)
1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Ohio State
7. Tennessee
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Miami
13. Ole Miss
14. South Carolina
15. Arizona State
16. Iowa State
17. Clemson
18. BYU
19. Missouri
20. UNLV
21. Illinois
22. Syracuse
23. Colorado
24. Army
25. Memphis
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 7:20 PM.
