Where is Penn State in the latest projected College Football Playoff brackets?
Penn State is well positioned to make the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff after taking out Wisconsin 28-13 last week on the road in Madison. Where it will ultimately end up in the bracket will be largely but not entirely influenced by how things go opposite Ohio State this weekend. With a win, the No. 3 Nittany Lions would be in a position to possibly play in the Big Ten championship game, where they could earn a first-round bye with a victory. A loss would reduce the odds of making that contest dramatically and put head coach James Franklin’s team in position to likely host a first-round game instead.
Here’s a look at the latest College Football Playoff bracket projections from media members across the country.
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Penn State postseason projections before Week 9
Many of this week’s projections for Penn State state the obvious: Without knowing who will be running the Nittany Lions offense this week or for the rest of the season, it’s hard to lock them into a spot. On3’s Andy Staples of On3 has them at No. 7, which would equal a first round home game opposite No. 10 Notre Dame. The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy projects the same thing.
On3 national college football reporter Ari Wasserman, meanwhile, projects No. 11 Texas A&M at No. 6 Penn State. The winner of that game would then take on No. 3 Miami in the Peach Bowl. Jerry Palm of CBS Sports calls for the same first round matchup, though he has the Aggies at No. 9 and the Nittany Lions at No. 8.
At ESPN, there are a variety of projections. Mark Schlabach has No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Penn State, while Kyle Bonagura has No. 11 Iowa State at No. 6 Penn State. Schlabach has the Nittany Lions making the semifinals, where he projects they will lose to Oregon. Bonagura, meanwhile, sends them out of the postseason after a quarterfinals loss to Miami.
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At The Sporting News, national college football reporter Bill Bender also has the Broncos visiting the Lions in a Nos. 12-5 matchup.
“The Broncos remain the highest ranked at-large team, and the only unbeaten Group of 5 team left is Army. Boise State has a better path — not to mention a Heisman Trophy candidate in Ashton Jeanty, who scored the game-winning TD in a 29-24 victory against UNLV,” Bender writes.
“The Nittany Lions beat the Badgers 28-13, but starting quarterback Drew Allar missed the second half with a knee injury. The top-five showdown with Ohio State awaits, and a victory is needed to stay in the Big Ten championship hunt. Penn State has allowed 15.2 points per game in Big Ten play.”
