Penn State football missed out on the first College Football Playoff ranking of the season Tuesday night.
The Nittany Lions are currently 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in the Big Ten. Sean Clifford’s injury clearly served as a bump in the road during Penn State’s slide, but that did not matter to the Playoff Committee Tuesday night. James Franklin’s group has lost its last three contests, the most recent of which a 33-24 defeat to Ohio State in Columbus.
Ohio State, which is 7-1 on the year, now sits at No. 5 in the rankings. Michigan State leads the Big Ten at No. 3, as the Spartans are now the only undefeated team in the conference. Mel Tucker’s group took down No. 7 Michigan in East Lansing 37-33 this past weekend. Stud running back Kenneth Walker III led the Spartans with 197 rushing yards and five scores.
The Big Ten West got a ton of respect in Tuesday night’s rankings. That side of the conference came in as follows: Minnesota (No. 20), Wisconsin (No. 21), and Iowa (No. 22). The top four of the ranking is Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon.
As for other rankings, Penn State came in at No. 22 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 Poll and No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Michigan State leads the Big Ten at No. 5 in the AP poll, but Ohio State takes that spot in the USA Today poll.
The Nittany Lions will try to bounce back from an ugly October and battle back into the top 25 against Maryland this weekend. Kickoff in College Park is set for 3:30 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on FS1.
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Georgia | 8-0 |
| 2 | Alabama | 7-1 |
| 3 | Michigan State | 8-0 |
| 4 | Oregon | 7-1 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 7-1 |
| 6 | Cincinnati | 8-0 |
| 7 | Michigan | 7-1 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 9-0 |
| 9 | Wake Forest | 8-0 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 7-1 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 7-1 |
| 12 | Baylor | 7-1 |
| 13 | Auburn | 6-2 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 6-2 |
| 15 | BYU | 7-2 |
| 16 | Ole Miss | 6-2 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | 5-3 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 6-2 |
| 19 | N.C. State | 6-2 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 6-2 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 5-3 |
| 22 | Iowa | 6-2 |
| 23 | Fresno State | 7-2 |
| 24 | San Diego State | 7-1 |
| 25 | Pitt | 6-2 |
