Penn State Earns No. 6 Seed in College Football Playoff, Will Host SMU in 1st Round

A postseason home game is set for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have earned the No. 6 seed in the College Football Playoff after a 45-37 loss to Oregon in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship.

Penn State (11-2) will host No. 11 seed and ACC runnerup SMU (11-2) at noon on Saturday, Dec. 21, which will mark the first playoff game in program history for both teams. The game will be broadcast on TNT and streamed on Max.

If the Nittany Lions beat the Mustangs in the first round, that would set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 Boise State at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 in the Fiesta Bowl.

There were question marks about where James Franklin’s team would place. In theory, Penn State could’ve landed anywhere from the No. 5-8 seeds. Instead of maintaining the No. 5 spot it was projected to land before facing the Ducks, the Nittany Lions were pushed down by Texas, which fell to Georgia in Saturday’s SEC Championship.

The Nittany Lions are one of four Big Ten teams to clinch a playoff spot. As the No. 1 seed, undefeated Oregon will earn a first-round bye and head straight to the quarterfinals in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes earned the No. 8 seed and will host No. 9 Tennessee and No. 10 Indiana will play at No. 7 Notre Dame.

College Football Playoff

No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson, 4 p.m. Dec. 21
Winner plays No. 4 Arizona State in quarterfinals (Peach Bowl, Jan. 1)

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee, 8 p.m. Dec. 21
Winner plays No. 1 Oregon in quarterfinals (Rose Bow, Jan. 1l)

No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU, noon Dec. 21
Winner plays No. 3 Boise State in quarterfinals (Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31)

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Indiana, 8 p.m. Dec. 20
Winner plays No. 2 Georgia in quarterfinals (Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1)