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Penn State still has a 14-percent shot to make College Football Playoff
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Penn State was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country. But, after a 39-38 loss to Ohio State last Saturday, the Nittany Lions are outside the top 4 teams in the College Football Playoff bracket.
Ranked No. 7 in the CFP rankings, Penn State has a 14-percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.
No B1G teams made the cut in the first edition of the top 4 teams in the College Football Playoff standings on Tuesday.
Losing to Ohio State hurt the Lions. Not only will they likely miss out on playing in the B1G Championship Game, but there’s also not a lot of time left to make up for their blunder last week.
Penn State would have to win the remainder of its games, but then its chances are still low of making the College Football Playoffs.
Even if the Lions win the rest of their games, our model gives them only a 20 percent chance of making the playoff. One important factor driving that number is a lack of opportunities for another signature win down the season’s final stretch. … The only ranked team remaining on Penn State’s schedule (assuming it doesn’t go to the Big Ten championship) is Michigan State — and if PSU beats Michigan State, the Spartans will surely lose their ranking, which is currently only No. 24. With this weak slate of remaining games, it will be difficult for the Lions to impress the committee solely with their performance on the field before season’s end.
Penn State faces Michigan State this Saturday on the road with kickoff set for noon EST.