Penn State Football moved up three spots this week in the College Football Playoff rankings to No. 11. The Nittany Lions will face Rutgers this week, aiming to continue climbing the rankings and secure a spot in a NY6 bowl game.
Notable rankings
The top-5 remained the same this week with Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, TCU, and Tennessee.
LSU moved into the #6 spot after the Oregon loss while the Ducks dropped to No. 12. Ole Miss dropped 3 spots from No. 11 to No. 14 after their close loss to Alabama.
Washington made the biggest jump this week moving 8 spots from No. 25 to No. 17, after beating Oregon. NC State had the biggest fall this week from No. 16 to No. 24 after their shocking loss to Boston College.
Three new teams entered the rankings this week with No. 22 Oklahoma State, #23 Oregon State, and #25 Cincinnati.
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What will it take for Penn State to move up in the poll?
Penn State Football continues to be on the path to reaching a New Year’s Six Bowl, and the Lions are in the top 11. It will most assuredly take a 10-2 record, and if they can beat Rutgers and Michigan State, that goal is within reach.
The Nittany Lions will need more help to gather one of the at-large spots for a NY6 bowl.
The Orange bowl takes the highest ranked SEC or Big 10 team that doesn’t go to the playoff or Rose/Sugar bowl. The cotton bowl would be an at-large bid against the highest ranked group of 5 champion, which is looking like UCF.
Winning big against Rutgers and Michigan State could possibly catch the committee’s attention, but a NY6 berth will ultimately come down to some upsets in front of Penn State Football.
Week 12 Key Matchups
No. 7 USC @ No. 16 UCLA 8:00 pm/FOX
This matchup has lost a bit of its luster with UCLA being upset by Arizona this past Saturday. That doesn’t mean that this game doesn’t have juice to it. Both teams are still in line to reach a conference championship game pending the tiebreakers around the league.
If USC wins, they are in the PAC 12 championship and continue their quest for the playoff. UCLA has a chance to knock USC out of playoff contention and put themselves right back in the conference title race.
This will be the highest attended Bruins game this season as they have already announced a sellout. USC is a 2.5-point road favorite.
No. 10 Utah @ No. 12 Oregon 10:30pm/ESPN
Another matchup that has lost some shine heading into this week.
Oregon is coming off an upset loss to Washington but that was their first conference loss, so a PAC 12 championship is still a possibility. Utah has been quietly hanging around the PAC 12 race this season and still only has one conference loss as well. The winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat to reach the conference title game. Oregon is a 3-point home favorite.
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