Despite cruising to an emphatic Senior Day victory, James Franklin’s Nittany Lions stayed put at No. 7 in the penultimate College Football Playoff Rankings.

Fifth Rankings: The #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee Top 25 for games played through November 26. pic.twitter.com/tSlBNBS48K

— CFBPlayoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 30, 2016

Penn State (10-2, 8-1 Big Ten) rode another late scoring surge to an emphatic 45-12 win over the Spartans, but the Committee still feels three Big Ten teams have better resumes than the Nittany Lions at this point. The Big Ten Championship clash with No. 6 Wisconsin will almost certainly provide the biggest shakeup to the final rankings on Sunday.

The reverberations from Saturday’s 30-27 double overtime thriller in the Horseshoe were felt in the Week 13 rankings released Tuesday night, but didn’t exactly tip the boat. Unsurprisingly, Alabama remained the nation’s top seed. Ohio State also stayed No. 2 thanks to its huge win over the Wolverines, who fell two places to No. 5. Clemson and Washington each improved a spot from last week to round out the new Top Four. Pitt made its CFP Rankings debut at No. 25.

Franklin and Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst split Big Ten postseason honors Tuesday, with Franklin earning the media nod for conference Coach of the Year and Chryst taking home the coaches vote. The Nittany Lions and Badgers will kickoff at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX this Saturday.

About the Author

Ethan Kasales

Ethan’s a senior journalism major who grew up in Lemont, a few minutes from campus. When he’s not covering Penn State sports, you can usually find him golfing or teaching snowboarding at Tussey Mountain. Feel free to email him at [email protected].

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