Penn State He was the winner on Tuesday night, when the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released by the selection committee.

The Nittany Lions finished 6th in the standings. First set of CFP rankings In the 12-team era.

Following the Nittany Lions’ loss to the Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium last weekend, Penn State ranked behind Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia, Miami and Texas, in that order. But most importantly, James Franklinhis team was ranked No. 7 in Tennessee, No. 8 in Indiana and others.

So why are the Nittany Lions ranked where they are? So what does moving forward mean for them? We take a deep dive into the CFP committee’s initial rankings.

The logic behind Penn State’s ranking

CFP president Warde Manuel met with reporters in a teleconference Tuesday night to answer questions about the first set of rankings. Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director, was asked about Penn State’s No. 6 ranking and its resume against Tennessee and others.

Manuel covered Penn State’s narrow loss to Ohio State, the season-opening nonconference road win at West Virginia and the brilliance of tight end Tyler Warren.

“Penn State lost to the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and it was a back-and-forth game. Frankly, it’s a game that could go the other way. It was back and forth,” Manuel said. “They have overtime wins against Illinois and Southern Cal. The opening win at West Virginia, which is tough to play for. We looked at their work.

“… When we look at the resume, when we look at what we’ve seen, when we look at the offensive performance and the tight ends, Tyler Warren is a dominant force on offense. I just think in terms of Penn State’s body of work and what they’ve seen in terms of the body of work of the committee, Penn State is ranked 6th and Tennessee is ranked 7th.

• BET: Check out our guide Best PA sports betting sitesWhere our team of sports betting experts reviews the experience, payout speed, betting options and odds quality for multiple sportsbooks.

The strength of the program is important

There was outrage online that Indiana was being disrespected. The Hoosiers remained undefeated, winning their nine games with a total of 296 points. Some thought Indiana should be ranked above Penn State and Tennessee. He noted that the strength of the manual program (SOS) is a big factor.

Indiana’s SOS ranks 103rd out of 134 FBS teams, according to ESPN’s metrics. The Hoosiers played Florida International, Western Illinois and Charlotte at home in the non-conference. In Big Ten play, the Hoosiers defeated UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, Nebraska, Washington and Michigan State. These teams have a combined record of 25-27 this season.

Penn State’s SOS is ranked 28th. The Nittany Lions defeated West Virginia 34-12 on the road in the opener. Their four Big Ten wins were against teams from Illinois, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin, with a combined record of 18-17.

Tennessee’s SOS is ranked 33rd. The Volunteers smoked NC State 51-10 in Charlotte outside the conference. They have a top-15 win over Alabama and a bad loss against Arkansas.

Can Penn State still win the Big Ten championship?

It’s extremely unlikely, but there is a way for Penn State to achieve the best-case scenario.

Penn State has 5.2 percent chance of winning the Big Ten ESPN’s predictions. The Nittany Lions will need an 11-1 record and a lot of help to reach Indianapolis.

The most likely outcome is for Indiana to beat Michigan and Ohio State to beat Purdue this weekend and face Oregon, which will decide who goes to the Big Ten championship game between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers on Nov. 16 (assuming they dominate the table).

But if Indiana loses to Michigan and Ohio State, it will be Ohio State’s loss against Michigan, with the Nittany Lions one away from going to the Big Ten championship game. Indiana and Ohio State would have two conference losses, while Penn State would only have one conference loss.

Why is all this important? Yes, banners fly forever. Winning the conference is still a matter of pride. Most importantly, the Big Ten champion will also receive a first-round bye in the CFP.

Again, this is very, very unlikely. But it’s completely out of the question.

Week 11 Rooting in interests

No. 8 in Michigan, Indiana: Indiana was amazing. What Curt Cignetti, Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers have done is one of the stories of the college football season so far. But Penn State fans should root for their downfall.

Purdue, No. 2 Ohio State: Maybe Purdue can pull off the impossible upset? According to ESPN, Ohio State has a 99% chance of winning. But hey, it’s something to support at noon.

No. 2 Georgia, No. 16Ole Miss: Outside of the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions want this to be as clean as possible. A signature win for two-loss Ole Miss against Georgia would put the Rebels back in the top 10. But the Dawgs would still be alive.

In conclusion

Penn State is in a great spot. If the Nittany Lions win, they’ll be in the field if they beat Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland. And starting from the 6th seed, he will lead the table for the rest of the regular season, almost certainly securing a home play-off match – perhaps even the coveted 5th seed against the Group of Five representative.

If Penn State loses to, say, Washington and wins the rest of its games, things get a little dicey. Hosting a playoff game may be out the window. But in most scenarios, a 10-2 record would still be good enough to make the field.

Franklin will look to beat the Huskies (and other teams on the schedule) while the Nittany Lions effectively decide their own CFP fate.