BREAKING: Penn State football learns first College Football Playoff ranking of 2024

The potential path to the postseason got clearer for James Franklin and Penn State football on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions learned their first College Football Playoff ranking for the 2024 season, year one of the expanded 12-team playoff era.

The Nittany Lions fall inside the top ten at No. 6. Under the new format, the four highest-ranked conference champions receive a first-round bye. Teams ranked No. 5-8 host home playoff games on December 20-21. Penn State would be seeded No. 7 and face No. 10 Notre Dame in the first round based on the state of current conference races.

The full CFP top 25 is as follows:

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Miami
5. Texas
6. Penn State
7. Tennessee
8. Indiana
9. BYU
10. Notre Dame
11. Alabama
12. Boise State
13. SMU
14. Texas A&M
15. LSU
16. Ole Miss
17. Iowa State
18. Pitt
19. Kansas State
20. Colorado
21. Washington State
22. Louisville
23. Clemson
24. Missouri
25. Army

After losing its first game of the year to Ohio State on Saturday, Penn State football fell from No. 3 to No. 6 and No. 7 in the AP and Coaches Polls, respectively.

“I understand their frustration,” James Franklin said to upset fans following last week’s loss to the Buckeyes. “Guys in the locker room are just as frustrated, if not more. But college football has changed, and we have an opportunity moving forward to right some wrongs from today, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

The Nittany Lions will face Washington at home on Saturday before contests at Purdue, at Minnesota, and against Maryland to close out the regular season.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation, one of the fastest-growing outlets covering Penn State athletics. Part of the Full Ride network, we are an alumni-owned, community-operated, credentialed media outlet dedicated to providing you with updated and reliable insights for all your favorite Nittany Lion sports. Whether it’s Penn State football, basketball, wrestling, or anything in between, you can find it all on Basic Blues Nation!

Please follow us on our social channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and subscribe to our newsletter on Substack for breaking news and notifications. For feedback, questions, or concerns, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on social media.