CFP rankings project awesome first-round Penn State game at Beaver Stadium

The first College Football Rankings have arrived and there were definitely some surprises for the Top 25. Penn State is fresh off a home loss to Ohio State, but they weren't punished too much by the committee, as they've checked in at No. 6.

Obviously, a lot can change over the next month or so, but Penn State fans are pretty dang fired up about that No. 6 spot. So, if the season ended today, what would be on the menu for the Nittany Lions and James Franklin for the first round?

With the way things went down on Tuesday night, the projected first-round matchup for Penn State would be against No. 10 Notre Dame. It's important to note that Penn State is ranked No. 6, but because of seedings, they're No. 7 for this particular bracket. Regardless, a home game vs. the Fighting Irish with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line? Sign us up:

Penn State is projected to play Notre Dame in the CFP first round

Talk about two storied programs here. Penn State against Notre Dame? Again, this would be a fun showdown to watch, especially with this game potentially taking place on PSU territory. We know a lot can change until that first round does arrive, but hey, it's never too early to start thinking about things.

Notre Dame only has one loss on the year, but the committee punished them for falling to Northern Illinois. This is a loss that's surely going to be kept in mind the rest of the way. As for the Nittany Lions, they had a golden chance to take down Ohio State, but some goal-line gaffes haunted them in a close loss.

Moving forward, Penn State is going to hope to put that tough defeat behind them and send a message the rest of the campaign. Franklin is hoping his guys are motivated following the rivalry loss to the Buckeyes. If Notre Dame does end up being the team's first opponent to open the CFP, a statement by Franklin and Co. will be ready to be made.