Some may have been surprised that Penn State ranked as high as sixth in the first College Football Playoff rankings, and now know why,
Not long after the reveal, which had PSU ranked No. 6 and seeded seventh in the playoff, taking on No. 10 Notre Dame at Beaver Stadium, Warde Manuel, chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee, explained why Penn State is ranked ahead of Tennessee, despite both having one loss.
Although Tennesseeโs loss (at unranked Arkansas) is worse than Penn Stateโs (vs. No. 2 Ohio State), Tennessee did beat No. 11 Alabama, and Penn State doesnโt have a win over anybody ranked in the top 25.
Hereโs Manuelโs explanation.
WHAT THE CHAIR SAID
EAST LANSING, MI – OCTOBER 21: Michigan Wolverines Athletics Director Warde Manuel greets people prior to a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines on October 21, 2023 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI. (Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire)
โPenn State lost to the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes,โ Manuel said. โIt was a game that went back and forth, and obviously a game that could have gone the other way. It was back and forth. And so, they have wins over Illinois, and Southern Cal in overtime, opening win at West Virginia, which is difficult to play. So, we look at their body of work; Tennessee has an impressive win over Alabama at No. 11 and wins over North Carolina State and Oklahoma [and are] 4-1 against teams over .500. The loss at Arkansas was something that we discussed a lot.
And so, looking at the resume, looking at what weโve seen, the offensive performance [from Penn State], their tight end, Tyler Warren, is a dominating force on offense. And so, I just think Penn State, in terms of their body of work, and what the committee saw in terms of their body of work, that came to the ranking of Penn State at six and Tennessee at seven.โ
THE WARREN FACTOR
Tyler Warren rumbles for a big gain to get the Nittany Lions into a goal-to-go situation late in the fourth quarter.
As Manuel mentioned, Penn Sate tight end Tyler Warren has been one of the best players in College Football. Warren (51 catches, 606 yards, four touchdowns) is thought by many to be the best tight end in the country. Thatโs the type of guy fans wanna see play in the College Football Playoff.
This week, Penn State has to worry about Washington, which its playing Saturday at 8 on Peacock.
