Did Penn State football get snubbed in the CFP rankings this week?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for college football fans. The last few weeks of the regular season and championship weekend are so enjoyable to watch. Unfortunately, that’s all the Penn State football team will be able to do when the final whistle blows on Friday night, watch around the country. The Nittany Lions are optimistic that they will play in a New Year’s 6 Bowl game to cap off the season. James Franklin would also like to finish inside the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings when this season comes to a close. But right now, Penn State is on the outside looking in, sitting behind Louisville and Missouri.

Did Penn State get snubbed in the CFP rankings this week?

In the week 12 edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, Penn State football landed at No. 11. They moved up one spot because Oregon State lost ahead of the Nittany Lions last weekend. But many are wondering why Penn State is stuck behind Missouri and Louisville. Missouri is ranked the No. 9 team in the country, while Lousiville landed at No. 10.

The Nittany Lions have a strong argument to be ahead of both teams based on the data/metrics that the college football playoff committee is supposed to use. Starting with Louisville, Jeff Brohm has done a wonderful job getting this team back to national prominence in his first year as head coach. But the problem with the 10-1 Cardinals is they have no real signature wins. Their best win came against Notre Dame but they also have a bad loss to Pittsburgh this season. Other statistics back this up as well.

No. 10 Louisville
Record: 10-1
Loss: Unranked Pitt
Best win: No. 18 Notre Dame
FPI: 20
Strength of schedule: 74
Strength of record: 10

No. 11 Penn State
Record: 9-2
Losses: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan
Best win: No. 17 Iowa
FPI: 6
SOS: 18
SOR: 12

— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) November 22, 2023

But keep in mind at the end of the day Louisville will take care of itself. They will play Kentucky this weekend and Florida State next weekend in the ACC Championship game. If Louisville loses either one of those games, Penn State should leapfrog the Cardinals in the rankings.

What about Missouri?

Well, the same can be said for the Missouri Tigers. Eli Drinkwitz was on the hot seat at the end of last year and now look at what he’s done with Missouri. They have been a great story to follow all season but should they be ranked ahead of Penn State? The data says no. No. 9 Missouri has two tough losses to Georgia and LSU this season but their best win is against Kansas State this season. They have a weaker strength of schedule than the Nittany Lions and other data reflects the argument for Penn State over Missouri as well.

No. 9 Missouri
Record: 9-2
Losses: No. 1 Georgia, No. 14 LSU
Best win: No. 19 Kansas State
FPI: 19
Strength of schedule: 20
Strength of record: 11

No. 11 Penn State
Record: 9-2
Losses: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan
Best win: No. 17 Iowa
FPI: 6
SOS: 18
SOR: 12

— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) November 22, 2023

Look, at the end of the day, does SEC bias 100% exist? I don’t have a problem with Missouri being ahead of Penn State, but Louisville feels like a stretch. Where do you land in this debate?

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