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ESPN’s Heather Dinich reveals where Penn State stands in Playoff picture
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ESPN’s Heather Dinich appeared on the network’s weekday morning show Get Up on Tuesday and told the country exactly where she believes Penn State is right now in the College Football Playoff picture.
Dinich saw what everybody else saw on Saturday night, when Oregon went into Happy Valley and held off a furious Penn State fourth-quarter rally to prevail in double overtime. It was yet another loss in a big spot for Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin, and it was yet another loss for Penn State in front of a White Out at Beaver Stadium.
Sure, Penn State didn’t quit and came roaring back late to force overtime. But it couldn’t close the deal in overtime, and Dinich believes right now that the loss that moved the Nittany Lions from No. 3 down to No. 7 in the AP Poll has Franklin’s team on the outside looking in for a Playoff spot.
“(That loss) means that if the Playoff were today, Penn State would be out,” Dinich said. “They don’t have a win against a Power 4 opponent. What does that mean? That means they’re under pressure to win at Ohio State, which as we know is difficult for Penn State.”
Dinich believes the competition for a Playoff spot come December will be fierce, and she just doesn’t know if Penn State will measure up by then.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of really good 10-2 teams this year in consideration for the selection committee, and I’m not convinced that that record for Penn State would be good enough,” Dinich said. “If you beat Ohio State, the narrative changes really fast.”
That all-important trip to No. 1 Ohio State comes on Nov. 1 for Penn State, and right now the ESPN FPI is giving the Nittany Lions only a 28.8% chance to prevail in Columbus.