If Penn State wants to earn a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, Saturday’s game against No. 6 Oregon will be a significant boost to its resume.
The No. 3 Nittany Lions host the Ducks in the 2025 White Out game at Beaver Stadium.
The playoff remains far into the distance, but the start of conference play at least puts the thought in the back of our minds.
CBS Sports analyst Bud Elliott released his CFP projections earlier this week, pinpointing the Nittany Lions to earn a bye.
Elliott slots Penn State as the No. 4 seed behind Ohio State, Miami, and Texas Tech, respectively.
Elliott projects four Big Ten teams to make the playoff, Ohio State and Penn State, followed by Oregon (No. 5) and Indiana (No. 11).
This could set up an Oregon vs. Penn State showdown in the quarterfinals.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The College Football Playoff selection committee changed the seeding format for this season, ranking the top 12 teams by seed, rather than conference champions earning a first-round bye.
Penn State benefitted from the previous rules as the No. 6 seed, hosting No. 11 SMU and moving on to play No. 3 Boise State at the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix.
Under this projection, Penn State would need to likely defeat Oregon and Ohio State to play for a national championship.
The 2025 White Out kicks off Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Elliott’s full College Football Playoff projections:
- Ohio State
- Miami
- Texas Tech
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- Florida State
- TCU
- Texas A&M
- Indiana
- Memphis
