As James Franklin often does, Penn State lost its two biggest games of the season. The Nittany Lions finished 11-2 after Saturday night’s loss to Oregon 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship Game. However, with arguably two of the best losses on its resume, the Nittany Lions nabbed the No. 6 seed in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, and potentially the best draw of any team forced to play in the first round.
Penn State seeing their Draw for the college football playoff pic.twitter.com/uIxbs3wF2w
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) December 8, 2024
Penn State will host No. 11 seed SMU on Saturday, December 21 Beaver Stadium with kickoff at Noon ET. The Nittany Lions have opened as a six-point favorite in that matchup against a Mustangs team that lost to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on a last-second field goal last night. Clemson’s win kept Alabama out of the CFP, and likely out of a trip to Happy Valley, which would have been a much tougher matchup for the Nittany Lions.
Clemson’s win also threw a wrench into the first-round bye situation with the four highest-ranked conference champions now being Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State. The Broncos finished the year 12-1 with a close loss to Oregon and Heisman Trophy contender Ashton Jeanty, but are clearly the most ideal quarterfinal opponent. Meanwhile, Ohio State, which beat Penn State at home, grabbed the No. 8 seed and will host No. 9 Tennessee for a chance to play No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Penn State beats zero good teams all season and has the hands down best spot on the bracket. This system stinks.
— Ohio’s Tate (@BarstoolTate) December 8, 2024
Needless to say, Ohio State fans and others in the media are furious with how favorable Penn State’s draw is.
What an incredible draw for @PennStateFball!! They lost the two toughest games they had all year including H2H on their home field to @OhioStateFB and get rewarded with that path!!
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) December 8, 2024
Penn State loses the Conference Championship and ends up with the best draw in the history of brackets
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) December 8, 2024
Fun system
Oregon beat Penn State last night and was rewarded with a harder path to the semis. So stupid.
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) December 8, 2024
The two teams that beat Penn State this year, will likely play in a rematch of their incredible head-to-head for a spot in the CFP semifinal. Even Texas, which was awarded the No. 5 overall seed after a loss to Georgia, will play Clemson and Arizona State on its way to the semis, arguably a comparable path to Penn State’s, but likely more threatening.
Nobody has ever been rewarded more for doing nothing than the 2024 Penn State football team
— Nick Shepkowski (@NickShepkowski) December 8, 2024
While the rest of the college football world whines, Penn State fans are thrilled about the opportunity to finally compete for a national championship under James Franklin. However, the pressure is certainly ramped up for the 11-year head coach of the Nittany Lions.
WHAT A DRAW FOR PENN STATE
— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) December 8, 2024
ITS TIME TO HANDLE BUSINESS.
NO EXCUSES. JUST WIN. pic.twitter.com/EBJ30FIUTt