Penn State fell to Oregon in a back-and-forth 45-37 Big Ten Championship on Saturday night, but the Nittany Lions are still looking forward to hosting a first-round Playoff game as the No. 6 seed in the bracket.

Of course, Penn State is taking advantage of this opportunity to host one of its signature White Outs, as it will welcome No. 11 seed SMU for a noon matchup on Dec. 21.

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Playoff White Out: UNLOCKED#WeAre x @CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/X435rlcnaU

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 8, 2024

The home atmosphere of 106, 572 fans, which ranks second nationally to The Big House in Michigan, should provide a 12th-man of sorts for the Nittany Lions as they look to take down upstart ACC runner-up SMU.

Thus far, it’s been a season of what-ifs for James Franklin & Co.

PSU boasts an 11-2 record, a ranked win over Illinois and qualified for the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2016. But in their two biggest games of the season, the Nittany Lions fell to Ohio State and Oregon by a combined 15 points.

Both were contests in which Penn State had chances to win, but the stigma around Franklin and big games will persist until he is able to string together some marquee victories. The good news is that the 12-team College Football Playoff will provide ample opportunities to do so.