Penn State is starting the official race for the College Football Playoff with some ground to make up. The Nittany Lions were ranked no. 11 in the first batch of College Football Playoff selection committee rankings, which were released on Tuesday evening.
At no. 11, Penn State is a couple of spots lower according to the playoff selection committee compared to the traditional US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. But this lower ranking was to be expected given Penn State’s overall body of work lacking any wins over teams ranked by the selection committee compared to other schools ranked ahead of them, including Alabama, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma.
October 3️⃣1️⃣ #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee Rankings 🏈🏆
1️⃣1️⃣. Penn State // @PennStateFball
1️⃣2️⃣. Missouri // @MizzouFootball
1️⃣3️⃣. Louisville // @LouisvilleFB
1️⃣4️⃣. LSU // @LSUfootball
1️⃣5️⃣. Notre Dame // @NDFootball— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) October 31, 2023
Being ranked just outside the top 10 keeps Penn State on the radar for the College Football Playoff or a spot in the New Years Six, but there is still some work to do in order to play into the conversation a bit more in the coming weeks.
Ohio State takes the top spot in the first rankings, helped by a win over Penn State and one over Notre Dame. Georgia took no. 2, Michigan took the no. 3 spot and Florida State is the no. 4 team.
The first two teams out of the top four are future Big Ten members Washington and Oregon, respectively.
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