Penn State Football moved up to #8 in this week’s rankings. This is the highest ranking for James Franklin’s squad for the season.
This was an extremely good week for the Nittany Lions NY6 bowl week hopes as they broke into the Top 10 for the first time in this year’s CFP rankings.
Notable rankings:
There was a little shakeup in this week’s poll with USC moving into the #4 spot and Ohio State falling to #5. LSU fell from the #5 all the way to #14 after their loss to 4-7 Texas A&M.
Penn State and Tennessee each moved up 3 spots in the top 10. Kansas TV State entered at #10, making the Big 12 championship game the only Top 10 matchup during conference championship week. Oregon State moved up 6 spots to #15 after their big win over Oregon, while the Ducks fell 7 spots to #16. #21 Notre Dame and #23 UNC each fell 6 spots after losing over the weekend.
South Carolina springed into the poll at #19 for the first time this season. Other newcomers included Mississippi State at #24 and NC State at #25.
What will it take for Penn State to move up in the poll?
With the regular season over there are less variables to allow for the Nittany Lions to continue moving up. Penn State will need to root against Clemson at #9 in hopes that they don’t jump them in the rankings. There also is the possibility that Kansas State could jump the Nittany Lions from #10 if they have an impressive performance against #3 TCU.
There is a chance that Penn State could be heading to the Rose Bowl no matter what happens in the PAC 12 Championship game. If USC wins that would mean that Utah and Ohio State would have to play for a 2ndyear in a row.
To avoid this they may select Penn State over Ohio State. If USC loses to Utah this weekend it would open a spot for the Buckeyes in the playoffs also sending Penn State to the Rose Bowl.
