The expansion of the College Football Playoff is inevitable, and the plans for a potential 12-team playoff field are officially being reviewed by a sub-group of College Football Playoff management. Time will tell just how soon we see the playoff field expanded from its current four-team format, but an expanded field opens the doors for many more college football programs around the country to be involved in the chase for the national championship. Penn State would absolutely be one of the schools benefitting from an expanded field.
On Thursday, the College Football Playoff released the details of a 12-team playoff field currently under review. In brief, the six highest-ranked conference champions plus the six highest-ranked at-large teams as determined by the selection committee would be involved in the playoff field. No conference automatic qualifiers would be included according to the current proposal, and no conference would be limited to the number of playoff participants.
The four highest-ranked conference champions would receive a first-round bye and teams ranked No. 5 through No. 12 would play each other on the home field of the higher-ranked team (5 vs 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9). Quarterfinals and semifinals would then be played in bowl games, with a designated neutral site location set for the national championship game as it currently operates.
This proposal has a very good opportunity for Penn State to have a much better shot at reaching the College Football Playoff. With the 12 highest-ranked teams being included, and with Penn State’s track record under James Franklin, a playoff appearance is much more manageable to secure, although still not a given.
So how would Penn State have fit into the playoff picture under this proposal in previous seasons?