Penn State earns its first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff — and will host home game

Penn State has clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time since its inception in 2014. The Nittany Lions were announced as the No. 6 seed in the 12-team field.

They will face No. 11 seed SMU in Beaver Stadium on noon Dec. 21. The game will be televised on TNT and Max.

Penn State’s matchup with the SMU will be the teams’ first meeting since 1978 when the Nittany Lions won 26-21 in State College. The two teams played only one other time, competing to a 13-13 tie in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day in 1948.

The Nittany Lions enter the playoff off a 45-37 loss to No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis. The victory earned the Ducks the No. 1 overall seed as the last undefeated team in college football.

Penn State head coach James Franklin said following Saturday’s loss that his team’s season was just beginning with the playoff up next.

“We’ll be excited about whatever opportunity comes and we’ll be prepared and ready because we have two losses this year, two top-five teams,” Franklin said. “Had a chance to win both of those games. Learned a ton from it.”

Penn State’s opponent got into the game as the final at-large team. The Mustangs, who went 11-2 this season, had a chance to secure a conference title and a bye — just as the Nittany Lions did — but fell to No. 16 Clemson in the ACC title game Saturday night on a game-winning field goal as time expired. They got into the field over Alabama and Miami, who were the first two teams out of the playoff bracket.

This is the first season of the playoff expanding to 12 teams. Prior to this season, the playoff has consisted of just four teams — with the Nittany Lions just missing out in 2016, when they were ranked No. 5 after winning the Big Ten title.

This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 12:39 PM.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.