Following a blowout win at Maryland in Week 10, and coupled with a second-straight loss by Oklahoma, Penn State has managed to crack into the top 10 of this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.
Penn State takes over the no. 10 spot in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. The selection committee moved Penn State up one spot in this week’s rankings after starting Penn State at no. 11 last week in the initial playoff rankings for this season.
The top four teams in this week’s rankings are no. 1 Ohio State, no. 2 Georgia, no. 3 Michigan, no. 4 Florida State. It is the same top four, in that order, as the first playoff rankings released last week. The first two teams out are no. 5 Washington and no. 6 Oregon. Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss follow and sit in front of Penn State in the top 10.
Penn State’s profile got a slight boost with Iowa making its way up to the no. 22 spot in this week’s ranking. That gives Penn State a victory over a ranked opponent, no matter what you justifiably say about Iowa’s lack of offense.
The College Football Playoff selection committee is updating its rankings each Tuesday from now through the end of the regular season. It all leads up to its version of selection Sunday with the official bowl pairings for this year’s College Football Playoff and the rest of the New Years Six bowl lineup on Sunday, Dec. 3. Penn State has never played in the four-team playoff but has made three trips to a New Years Six bowl game in the playoff era.
Penn State will face Michigan this week for a chance to make a big move up in the rankings, in addition to boosting its chances of playing for a Big Ten championship. The game is also important for Michigan as far as the playoff rankings are concerned as well. Penn State will be Micigan’s first ranked opponent faced this season, and a win over the Nittany Lions could help move Michigan up into the top two spots.
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