Penn State College Football Playoff projections: Are the Lions picked to host a game at home?
Penn State football is No. 3 in both The Associated Press top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll following its second and final bye week of the season. That does not mean the Lions are picked to end up there in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, of course. But they’re on track to host a first-round game and, of course, are in a position to potentially win the Big Ten still. That, of course, would lock it into a quarterfinal spot.
Much work remains for head coach James Franklin’s team to make its postseason hopes a reality, of course. Where are the Lions projected to end up in the field before it tries to run its current 6-0 record to 7-0 at Wisconsin this week? Here’s the latest roundup.
Penn State postseason projections before Week 9
We start with the picks from On3’s national analysts. Andy Staples has the Lions at No. 7 and facing No. 10 Tennessee in Round 1 for the right to battle Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Ari Wasserman, meanwhile, has No. 10 PSU at No. 7 Miami. The winner of that game, he projects, would face No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
“The Nittany Lions had a bye week this week and entered the back half of their schedule unbeaten,” Wasserman writes. “Penn State has the pieces to contend for a Big Ten championship, but James Franklin still has to prove he can win the big one. Penn State hosts Ohio State on Nov. 2 in a game that’ll show us whether the Nittany Lions are under-ranked on this list.”
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Moving on to CBS Sports, longtime bracket expert Jerry Palm has No. 7 PSU hosting No. 10 Clemson in a first round matchup. Heather Dinich of ESPN echoes that potential matchup. Her colleagues see it differently, however. Kyle Bonagura has No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 5 Penn State. Mark Schlabach has No. 11 Iowa State at No. 6 Penn State. Both have the Lions winning their opening round game. Bonagura has them going to the semifinals and losing to Oregon.
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“Of the four teams I have in the semifinals, Penn State is the one I feel least confident about,” Bonagura writes. “The Nittany Lions are there almost by default as a result of their 6-0 record, which includes just one strong win (Illinois). I don’t think they have the firepower to keep up with Oregon in that hypothetical matchup. The Ducks are the deserved No. 1 team in the country right now. But, there are a handful of teams that can go toe-to-toe with them. There really isn’t a strong favorite at this point. Every top team — except Indiana? — has either lost or come very close, so there are lots of circular arguments to be had.”
At The Athletic, Stewart Mandel has No. 11 BYU at No. 6 PSU in the opening round. And, Austin Mock has No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Penn State.
