For many, this season is “playoff or bust” for Penn State.
Per at least one analyst, this season will be a bust, by that standard.
Ari Wasserman of On3Sports has PSU as a “bubble team” and the first squad out of the expanded 12-team playoff.
College Football Playoff Bubble Watch after week 2: Who is in and who is out?https://t.co/mTpX0jrnOS
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) September 8, 2024
His last four teams in are Missouri, Alabama, Ole Miss and USC, so three SEC teams and one of Penn State’s Big Ten foes. So if Wasserman’s projections are accurate, the Penn State-USC game scheduled for Oct. 12 at the Coliseum could end up deciding a playoff spot. PSU is currently No. 8, USC No. 11.
Penn State’s one of Wasserman’s first four teams out, along with Clemson, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.
His next four out are Oklahoma, Iowa State, Louisville and Arizona.
It’s also important to note that Penn State could finish the top 12 and not make it to the playoff.
This could happen by virtue of the Group of Five’s automatic bid not being a top 12 team or one or more of the Power Four champions not being one. Wasserman has Boise State— which almost upset mighty Oregon in Eugene Saturday night— getting that Group of Five spot, with UNLV, Memphis and Liberty also being in the mix.
Wasserman talked about PSU in his article and said he felt like the team’s Week 1 (34-12 win at West Virginia) and 2 (34-27 win over Bowling Green at Beaver Stadium) performances were quite different despite both ending in wins.
“Week one made Penn State look like a world-beater with a new-and-improved offense and an advanced Drew Allar,” Wasserman wrote. “Then when Penn State returned home against Bowling Green, the game was in question in the fourth quarter. What a confusing pair of results.”
