Penn State is almost a sure bet to make it to the College Football Playoff, with it being 8-1, ranked No. 6 and having three games left against inferior competition (at Purdue, at Minnesota, vs. Maryland), and one College Football Insider has the team making it to Pasadena in his projections.
Brett McMurphy of The Action Network has Penn State getting a home game as the No. 8 seed, then beating No. 9 seed Tennessee at Beaver Stadium.
My new @ActionNetworkHQ bowl projections. @CFBPlayoff: Oregon, Texas, Miami, Colorado; Boise St at Ohio St; Tennessee at Penn St; Georgia at Ole Miss; Indiana at Notre Dame. Also, Music City: LSU-Wisconsin; Alamo: BYU-Wash St; Pop-Tarts: SMU-Iowa Sthttps://t.co/60CCitQ7Z1
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 11, 2024
This would set up an all-Big Ten Rose Bowl between Penn State and Oregon, which McMurphy projects to maintain its No. 1 ranking into the postseason. McMurphy sees Oregon getting the best of Penn State.
THE CURRENT SET UP
SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 12: The World of Life “Touchdown Jesus” mural overlooks Notre Dame Stadium prior to a college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on October 12, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire)
If the current College Football Playoff rankings hold up, No. 7 Penn State would host No. 10 Notre Dame at Beaver Stadium. Although both teams pounded their competition this past Saturday— Penn State beating Washington 35-6 and Notre Dame taking care of Florida State 52-3– there should be a shakeup thanks to a pair of upsets. No. 3 Georgia fell to No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 4 Miami lost at un-ranked Georgia Tech.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Tennessee, on the other hand, is ranked No. 7 and would be seeded eighth, where it’d host another Big Ten school in Indiana.
30 YEARS LATER
It would be fitting if Penn State ended up playing Oregon in the Rose Bowl, as the Playoff projections say, since this would mark 30 years since the teams first met in Pasadena. Penn State won that game, 38-20, to cap off a perfect 12-0 1994 season. If Penn State wins its last three regular-season game and then its first playoff game, it would match that 12-win total, which would tie a school record.
Penn State last played in the Rose Bowl far more recently, beating Utah 35-21 Jan. 2, 2023.
Penn State takes on 1-8 Purdue this Saturday at 3:30 on CBS in West Lafayette.
