Penn State Rises to No. 3 in Final College Football Playoff Rankings of Regular Season

The regular season has concluded and Penn State has positioned itself to host a first-round home playoff game. After a 44-7 win over Maryland on Saturday, the Nittany Lions moved up to No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, which were released on Tuesday night.

Penn State will face No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten Championship this weekend before selection day on Sunday.

It’s not a question whether the Nittany Lions will make the playoff, regardless of the outcome against the Ducks. What is unclear, however, is how a potential loss could impact their seeding.

If Penn State were to beat Oregon, they would claim a first-round bye and a trip to the quarterfinals. And if they lose, James Franklin’s program would need to stay within seeds No. 5-8 to maintain a home game in the first round.

“I think everybody recognizes that we want to make sure that these playoff (conference championship) games do not become a penalty,” Franklin said on Sunday. “And I think there’s been a lot of conversation about that, and there’s, there’s a bunch of really good football people that are on the committee that I think understand that.

Based on ESPN’s projected playoff bracket, Penn State would host No. 15 Arizona State in the first round on either Dec. 20 or 21, if the season were to end on Tuesday. But with conference championships on the horizon, this is subject to change.

The Nittany Lions and Ducks are two of four Big Ten teams ranked in the top 12. Ohio State dropped four spots to No. 6 after a 13-10 upset loss to Michigan this past weekend. Indiana moved up one spot to No. 9 after a 66-0 blowout over Purdue.