Penn State is ranked No. 11 in the first iteration of the 2023 College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday night.
The Nittany Lions are one of five current or soon-to-be Big Ten members in the Top 11 with Ohio State coming in at No. 1 and Michigan sitting at No. 3 while Washington and Oregon take up the No. 5 and No. 6 spots respectively.
Reigning back-to-back title winner Georgia is No. 2 in the rankings while the Top 4 is rounded out by Florida State. This is the last year of the college football playoffs including just four teams, with the field expanding to 12 in 2024. Penn State is currently ranked No. 9 in the most recent AP Poll, which was released on Sunday. The Nittany Lions moved up one spot in those rankings following a narrow win over Indiana but benefiting from Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas.
Penn State next heads on the road to face Maryland with kick slated for 3:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX. The Nittany Lions are currently an 11.5-point favorite.
Reasonably speaking, Penn State will need help from multiple teams across the college football landscape in addition to a win over Michigan in two weeks to enter playoff consideration. The Nittany Lions finished the 2016 regular season ranked No. 5 in the playoff rankings, the closest the program has gotten to making the four-team playoff to date.
In 2024 the expansion of the playoff field should favor Penn State with the higher-seeded teams slated to host playoff games in the opening rounds.
College Football Playoff Rankings (Oct. 31)
- Ohio State (8-0)
- Georgia (8-0)
- Michigan (8-0)
- Florida State (8-0)
- Washington (8-0)
- Oregon (7-1)
- Texas (7-1)
- Alabama (7-1)
- Oklahoma (7-1)
- Ole Miss (7-1)
- Penn State (7-1)
- Missouri (7-1)
- Louisville (7-1)
- LSU (6-2)
- Notre Dame (7-2)
- Oregon State (6-2)
- Tennessee (6-2)
- Utah (6-2)
- UCLA (6-2)
- USC (7-2)
- Kansas (6-2)
- Oklahoma State (6-2)
- Kansas State (6-2)
- Tulane (7-1)
- Air Force (8-0)
