Penn State football climbs in College Football Playoff poll: Headed to Peach Bowl?
Penn State football is in prime position to land the best bowl game possible − as long as it takes care of its business on Black Friday in Detroit.
The latest College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday evening, have the Nittany Lions in a comfortable spot to qualify for a respected New Year's Six bowl game like the Peach, Fiesta or Cotton. The Lions moved up one spot to land at No. 11 in this fourth poll update − just behind one-loss Louisville and just ahead of two-loss Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
If the Lions can beat big underdog Michigan State Friday night on Ford Field, they will improve to 10-2 and could move into the Top 10 before conference championship weekend and the bowl selections.
The Lions also moved up a spot to No. 11 in the traditional rankings after their 27-6 Senior Day victory over Rutgers, including the US LBM Coaches poll.
Penn State is a 21-point favorite over the 4-7 Spartans in prime time on NBC. Both teams may rely on inexperienced redshirt freshman quarterbacks if Penn State's injured Drew Allar can't play, as expected.
There certainly is precedent for Penn State making one of those big bowls, the next step below the College Football Playoffs: Each time head coach James Franklin's team has won 10 regular-season games in the past it has made it (Rose 2016, 2022; Fiesta, 2017; Cotton, 2019).
To qualify again for the New Year's Six, Penn State must finish in the top 12 of the CFP's final rankings, released on Sunday, Dec. 3. Bowl game matchups are announced that day.
A popular Penn State projection, at the moment, is the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 30. Possible opponents include Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi and Tulane, the Group of 5 representative.
The Lions are presently sandwiched in between two-loss Missouri and Ole Miss, who expect to hold their CFP spots with expected victories this weekend over Arkansas and Mississippi State.
In a twist, Penn State could also end up in the Fiesta, against one of the Big Ten's newest acquisitions from the Pac-12: Washington or Oregon.
The Lions last played the Huskies in the 2017 Fiesta and will meet them again in Beaver Stadium next fall. Penn State hasn't played Oregon since the post-1994 Rose Bowl; they'll meet again in Eugene during the 2025 regular season.
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Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State in College Football Playoff poll: Peach or Fiesta bowl?
