The final AP Ranking before the College Football Playoff is in, and it has Penn State in an interesting spot.
Penn State is ranked No. 5 behind top-ranked Oregon— who beat Penn State for the Big Ten Championship Saturday night in Indianapolis— as well as No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame and Texas.
Because No. 8 Boise State (highest-ranked Group of Five team) and No. 13 Clemson (ACC Champ) each have automatic bids, this would make Penn State the No. 7 seed.
Penn State dropped just two spots in the AP Poll, falling to No. 5 ahead of the College Football Playoff's announcement at Noon ET.
AP Top 25: https://t.co/M36IqS1OFb pic.twitter.com/waqOuf18NE
— Blue White Illustrated (@PennStateOn3) December 8, 2024
If this ranking ends up being replicated in the College Football Playoff field, Penn State would take on a familiar Big Ten foe.
INDIANA, OUR INDIANA
COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 23: Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti talks to his players during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 23, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire)
Penn State’s opponent in this Playoff bracket would be No. 10 seed Indiana. First-year coach Curt Cignetti’s team has been one of the best stories in College Football this year. Picked to finish 16th in the Big Ten’s preseason poll, Indiana ended up going 11-1. Its only loss came at No. 6 Ohio State Nov. 23. Indiana was an annual opponent for Penn State when the Big Ten East existed but in the first year of the post-divisional era, the teams didn’t meet.
This means that Indiana’s former head coach would be going against his old school.
THE TOM ALLEN BOWL
BLOOMINGTON, IN – NOVEMBER 18: Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen following a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and Indiana Hoosiers on November 18, 2023 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire)
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State’s defensive coordinator used to be Indiana’s head coach.
Tom Allen came to Penn State after seven seasons as the head coach at Indiana.
In that time, IU’s overall results were mixed. But the team consistently put together solid defenses, and Allen played a big part in that.
Before becoming Indiana’s head coach, he was the defensive coordinator there for the 2016 season.
Penn State for all seven of those seasons, the most memorable game being IU’s overtime win in 2020’s season opener. That was the only time Allen beat Penn State, although the team came close last October. IU came into Happy Valley as a four-touchdown underdog, but ended up being tied with the favorites with less than two minutes left before PSU finally but the Hoosiers away with a late touchdown pass. That game was a moral victory for Indiana but there weren’t many official victories in 2023.
IU finished 3-9 overall and 1-8 in the Big Ten, which led to Allen’s dismissal.
After the AP ranking, Penn State finds out its Playoff fate at noon Sunday. The bracket will be revealed on ESPN.
