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Penn State Not Included In First College Football Playoff Ranking Of Season

Penn State football missed out on the first College Football Playoff ranking of the season Tuesday night.

The Nittany Lions are currently 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in the Big Ten. Sean Clifford’s injury clearly served as a bump in the road during Penn State’s slide, but that did not matter to the Playoff Committee Tuesday night. James Franklin’s group has lost its last three contests, the most recent of which a 33-24 defeat to Ohio State in Columbus.

Ryan Day’s group, which is 7-1 on the year, now sits at No. 5 in the rankings. Michigan State leads the Big Ten at No. 3, as the Spartans are now the only undefeated team in the conference. Mel Tucker’s group took down No. 7 Michigan in East Lansing 37-33 this past weekend. Stud running back Kenneth Walker III led the Spartans with 197 rushing yards and five scores.

The Big Ten West got a ton of respect in Tuesday night’s rankings. That side of the conference came in as follows: Minnesota (No. 20), Wisconsin (No. 21), and Iowa (No. 22). The top four of the ranking is Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oregon.

As for other rankings, Penn State came in at No. 22 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 Poll and No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Michigan State leads the Big Ten at No. 5 in the AP poll, but Ohio State takes that spot in the USA Today poll.

The Nittany Lions will try to bounce back from an ugly October and battle back into the top 25 against Maryland this weekend. Kickoff in College Park is set for 3:30 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on FS1.

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About the Author

Will Pegler

Will is a senior majoring in digital and print journalism and is an associate editor for Onward State. He is from Darien, Connecticut and is a lifelong Penn State football fan. He loves a good 80's comedy movie, Peaky Blinders, The Office, and the New York Yankees and Giants. You can catch some of his ridiculous sports takes on his Twitter @gritdude and yell at him on his email [email protected]

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