A 5th Big Ten team finally appearing in the College Football Playoff rankings is great news for Penn State

Penn State is favored to finish the season at 11-1, and checking in at No. 4 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, winning out with a loss to No. 2 Ohio State should be enough for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions to host a first-round game at Beaver Stadium in the inaugural 12-team CFP. 

However, Penn State is not positioned well to withstand another loss, especially not as well as the two-loss teams in the SEC, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama, all ranked within this week’s top 15. That could change, though, if the Illinois Fighting Illini keep winning. 

So far through the first two weeks of the CFP schedule, no team that Penn State has beaten has appeared in the top 25. The best thing on Penn State’s schedule is a close loss at home to the Buckeyes. This week, however, after a 38-16 win over Michigan State coming out of a bye week, Bret Bielema’s Illini were ranked 25th. 

Illinois finishes the season with road games at Rutgers and at Northwestern, so the ceiling for how high this three-loss Big Ten team can climb is certainly capped, but if the Fighting Illini can stay inside the top 25, it will give Penn State a ranked win to hang its hat on and more importantly, margin for error. 

BYU, a team with multiple ranked wins, fell from No. 6 last week to No. 14 in this week’s rankings after a home loss to Kansas. Indiana, despite being undefeated, is ranked fifth, behind three one-loss teams, including Penn State, so the Hoosiers are ready for a considerable fall if they lose in Columbus this weekend. Penn State has much more brand recognition, which earns you the benefit of the doubt in these rankings. Still, if Franklin’s team slips in Minneapolis this Saturday against PJ Fleck’s Golden Gophers, or at home to Maryland in the final week of the regular season, a home win over an Illinois team that finishes the year anywhere from No. 21-25, could be the only thing that saves them.

Big Ten teams in the Week 12 College Football Playoff Rankings

• No. 1 Oregon Ducks (11-0)
• No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1)
• No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-1)
• No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers (10-0)
• No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3)