Although it felt like the end of the world exiting Beaver Stadium after Penn State’s heartbreaking 27-26 loss to Ohio State, the College Football Playoff hopes for James Franklin’s 11th-ranked team are far from out of reach.

Despite allowing a fast track to the Big Ten championship game to slip through their hands, there are other ways the Nittany Lions can reach the all-important top four come December.

First of all, they’ll need to win out.

That’s easier said than done with key games on the road at No. 15 Michigan and Indiana, plus home matchups with No. 20 Michigan State, No. 16 Wisconsin, and Iowa.

However, if Penn State is able to run the table, ESPN’s playoff predictor offers some encouraging odds.

In the College Football Playoff era, there have been five Power Five teams with one loss to miss the playoff. However, three of those teams have come from the Big Ten, showing the committee typically favors more variety in their selection.

If Penn State does win out, it will need some help from the teams currently situated in the AP top 10.

While the SEC is always chaotic, teams that play in weaker Power Five conferences, or are independent in Notre Dame’s case, don’t necessarily have many tough challenges remaining.

Clemson and Notre Dame each have only one currently-ranked opponent left on their schedules — neither of which are in the top 20.

It might make these schools less likely to lose in the upcoming weeks, but it’s still college football and upsets are prime in the home stretch.

Teams like these would also have fewer resume-building wins than the Nittany Lions, as well as a potential loss to a team without the stature of No. 3 Ohio State.

A push for the playoff will be challenging, but an 11-1 finish that could include three or more top 25 wins would build quite the case for the Nittany Lions. With a home-heavy schedule and a Heisman candidate in Trace McSorley, running the table is not out of the realm of possibility quite yet.