Penn State postseason projections: Where are the Lions in new CFP brackets before the Big Ten title game?
Penn State football is one of a handful of teams who are assured a spot in the 2024 College Football Playoff. James Franklin’s No. 4 Nittany Lions are set to play No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten title game this Saturday in Indianapolis, Ind. The winner will be locked into one of the top four seeds and earn a first-round bye. The loser, on the other hand, will, in all likelihood, have to host a first round playoff game two weekends after this one. And, according the latest bowl projections, most think that’s what Penn State will have to do.
Media projections from around the country were updated on Sunday and Monday following the final weekend of the regular season. The new College Football Playoff projected bracket from On3 national writer Andy Staples has the Lions as the No. 5 seed and playing No. 12 Arizona State. The winner would go to the Fiesta Bowl opposite No. 4 Boise State.
“The Nittany Lions probably weren’t planning on playing in the Big Ten title game, but they’re in it now.” he writes. “They followed a scare at Minnesota with a thrashing of Maryland. And, between the way they finished the Minnesota game and the way they played for four quarters Saturday, they’ll arrive in Indianapolis firing on all cylinders.”
At ESPN, Mark Schlabach has the No. 8 Nittany Lions hosting No. 9 Tennessee. Kyle Bonagura has the same matchup projected for Beaver Stadium. But, he has the teams at No. 7 and No. 10, respectively. Both have the Lions winning the first game and losing in the quarterfinals to No. 2 Texas and No. 1 Oregon, respectively.
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For CBS Sports, Jerry Palm has No. 6 Penn State hosting No. 11 Indiana. The two 11-1 Big Ten teams did not meet in the regular season, of course. At The Athletic, Austin Mock projects the Lions to be the No. 5 seed and host No. 12 Arizona State. The winner would face No. 4 Clemson in the quarterfinals. Austin Curtright of USA Today also has the Lions facing the Sun Devils.
Bill Bender of The Sporting News says the No. 5 Nittany Lions will host No. 12 Alabama. He has them going all the way to the semifinals before losing to Oregon. Brett McMurphy of The Action Network sees it mostly similarly. However, he has Georgia knocking out the Nittany Lions in the semis.
“There is some merit to that path for the No. 5 seed, and Penn State takes advantage and gets a rematch with the Ducks in the Cotton Bowl Classic,” Bender writes. “Oregon takes the Cotton Bowl route for travel purposes. We don’t love that the Ducks have to go through the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions again. But there will be rematches. Accept it. “
