Can Penn State still make College Football Playoff? What’s next after Ohio State loss

Penn State was handed what has become an agonizingly familiar setback Saturday, the kind of defeat that would potentially hurt more if it didn’t happen at such an alarming rate.

In their biggest game of the season, the Nittany Lions fell at home to Ohio State 20-13 in a matchup of top-five teams playing in front of a record-setting crowd of 111,030 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

The loss was Penn State’s eighth in a row to the Buckeyes and dropped coach James Franklin’s record against Ohio State to 1-10 since he took over as the program’s coach ahead of the 2014 season.

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Many of those eight consecutive losses came in games that ended up shaping the Big Ten and national title races, propelling the Buckeyes to conference championships and College Football Playoff appearances while preventing the Nittany Lions from reaching those goals.

What impact might No. 3 Penn State’s latest disappointment against No. 4 Ohio State have?

Here’s what you need to know about the Nittany Lions’ playoff chances:

REQUIRED READING: James Franklin act at Penn State growing tiresome after falling short again against Ohio State

Can Penn State football make the College Football Playoff?

As gutting as Saturday’s loss may have felt for Penn State and its fans, the Nittany Lions very much remain in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The defeat was Penn State’s first of the season, making its record 7-1 with four games remaining in the regular season.

While losses in recent seasons to Ohio State made the Nittany Lions’ road to a four-team playoff much more difficult — if there even was a road at all — the expanded 12-team playoff features seven at-large berths for the highest-ranked teams…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-still-college-football-212242910.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-02 21:22:42

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