Penn State postseason projections: Where do the Nittany Lions stand entering Week 3?
Penn State did not play a perfect game against Bowling Green. But, it did what it needed to do so that it could improve to 2-0 on the year, which it did following a 34-27 Week 2 triumph at Beaver Stadium. Now, the Nittany Lions are amid their first of two bye weeks in 2024 and working to fix some of the early season issues that have popped up despite the perfect start.
“You’re going to have to win a ton of different ways throughout the year,” Franklin said Tuesday. There’s going to be games where you blow people out. Going to be games where you’re on the road, scratching and clawing for every point you can get. There’s going to be games where, you’re on the road, you’re dealing with weather. There’s a ton of different ways. And we’re going to have to find multiple ways to win games. That was one of them this Saturday.
“I’d love for it to be different, but I do think there’s some value of having the grit to battle through. I’d prefer that we can play in a way that we can build the confidence that we need going into Big Ten play and get a ton of guys reps and still be able to clean up some of the mistakes. But yeah, I think there’s some value in winning these types of games.”
With one blowout and one ugly win, Penn State is still among the favorites to make the first 12-team College Football Playoff. It’s time to look at the latest postseason projections entering Week 3.
Penn State postseason projections ahead of Week 3
Brett McMurphy of The Action Network projects Penn State at No. 9 at the end of the season. If he ends up being correct, it would set up a first-round CFP matchup at Oregon on Dec. 20. McMurphy has the Ducks as the eight seed after two weeks.
At CBS Sports, Jerry Palm has the Lions as the No. 7 seed and projects them to host No. 10 Kansas State in a first-round Playoff clash. The winner of it would draw No. 2 Ohio State in Palm’s latest bracket prediction.
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Over at The Athletic, Stewart Mandel projects that the Lions will host Kansas State, as well, with the winner facing No. 2 Georgia in a neutral site quarterfinal matchup. The outlet’s Austin Mock, meanwhile, has Penn State at No. 8 and hosting No. 9 Ole Miss in the opening round. That would be a rematch of last year’s Peach Bowl, of course, which the Rebels took handily.
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For The Sporting News, Bill Bender slots Penn State at No. 11 and sends it to No. 6 Alabama in the first round of the CFP.
“Alabama shook off South Florida with a 28-point fourth quarter in a 42-16 victory that at least left a few questions considering how long it took,” Bender writes. “Kalen DeBoer continues to get efficient play out of Jalen Milroe. Alabama plays at Wisconsin in Week 3. Penn State is our fourth-seeded Big Ten team. The Nittany Lions had to shake off Bowling Green in a 34-27 game that was closer than it should have been. Drew Allar wasn’t quite as dynamic, but Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both topped 100 yards. Look for a more focused team to take on Kent State in Week 3.”
Andy Staples of On3 calls for Penn State to travel to Ole Miss for a round one matchup with the winner facing Georgia, as does On3’s Jesse Simonton. And, at ESPN, Mark Schlabach has Penn State losing to at Oregon in the opening round No. 9 vs. No. 8 matchup while Kyle Bonagura has it missing the CFP instead playing Tennessee in the Cheez-It Bowl.
