On Tuesday, the first College Football Playoff ranking of the 2024 season was released and the Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked No.6 though would be the No. 7 seed as No. 9 BYU would be the current fourth seed as they're in the poll position to win the Big 12.
Following the release of the College Football Playoff committee's top 25, College Football Playoff committee chair Warde Manuel took questions from the media on the rankings including one question about Penn State.
Here's what Manuel had to say when asked what went into the Nittany Lions being ranked ahead of the likes of Tennessee and BYU.
"Well, Penn State lost to the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, and it was a game that went back and forth, and obviously a game that could have gone the other way, It was back and forth," Manuel started off his response with. The Nittany Lions fell to the Buckeyes this past weekend 20-13 after failing to convert on two offensive drives that saw Penn State get to the goal line but failed to score points.
"In that, they have wins over Illinois and Southern Cal in overtime, an opening win at West Virginia, which is difficult to play. So we looked at their body of work," he also added.
"Tennessee has an impressive win over Alabama at No. 11 and wins over North Carolina State and Oklahoma, 4-1 against teams above .500. The loss at Arkansas was something that we discussed a lot," Warde explained when it came to the Nittany Lions being ahead of Tennessee.
But another reason that the committee likes Penn State so far this season? The Nittany Lions star tight end Tyler Warren.
"So looking at the resume, looking at what we've seen, the offensive performance, their tight end Tyler Warren is a dominating force on offense," Manuel said. "So I just think Penn State, in terms of their body of work and what the committee saw in terms of their body of work, that came to the ranking of Penn State at 6 and Tennessee at 7."
Penn State is currently projected to face and host No. 10 Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. The Nittany Lions will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season on Saturday night when they host the Washington Huskies in their annual White Out.
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