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CFP Committee chair Rob Mullens explains Penn State’s No. 4 ranking, inclusion ahead of Clemson
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Penn State is sitting in a great spot ahead of the stretch run to this season.
The initial College Football Playoff Rankings were unveiled on Tuesday night with a few surprises. Among those surprises were Ohio State’s selection at No. 1 over LSU and two B1G teams in the top four. The Nittany Lions were the second B1G team with a No. 4 ranking. LSU at No. 2 and Alabama at No. 3 rouned out the current top four.
Most notably, Penn State was ranked ahead of defending National Champion and fellow undefeated Clemson. When asked to discuss the reasoning for having the Nittany Lions in the top four, CFP Committee chairman Rob Mullens said James Franklin’s squad has been a bit more consistent with some better wins than Clemson:
“When you look at Penn State’s resume, with wins over Michigan and at Iowa, those are marquee wins,” explained Mullens. “And when you look across, Penn State’s been very consistent…The committee felt Penn State is a notch above [Clemson].”
Kirk Herbstreit also went to dissect how Penn State could still be in a Playoff position if the team were to lose on the road to No. 1 Ohio State. Herbstreit pointed out that people have mentioned how good LSU would still look if the Tigers were to lose at Alabama this weekend in a close game.
For Herbstreit, that same scenario applies to the B1G and Penn State:
“We keep saying if LSU loses a close game in Tuscaloosa this week. If Penn State beats Minnesota, and then they go to Columbus and they battle the way they did two years ago, and they lose a close one and that’s their only loss? Penn State is going to have just as big of an argument as LSU,” said Herbstreit.
Obviously, the Nittany Lions still have to take care of business, but they are right where they need to be heading into Week 11.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.