Penn State football was ranked No. 11 in the latest College Football Playoff poll Tuesday night. The ranking comes after the Nittany Lions defeated Rutgers 27-6 last week.

The 24-15 loss against Michigan two weeks ago handed Penn State its second loss of the season, thus eliminating it from College Football Playoff contention. No two-loss team has ever made the competition.

Penn State’s first loss was a 20-12 defeat at Ohio State, and the Nittany Lions’ failure to produce offense in those two games led to the firing of now-former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich after the defeat against the Wolverines. Yurcich went 0-6 against the Buckeyes and Wolverines in nearly three seasons on the job.

Despite its elimination from playoff contention, Penn State is still viewed as a likely invite to a New Year’s Six bowl game. The most frequently mentioned possibility is an inaugural trip to the Peach Bowl, while the Nittany Lions have also been projected to appear at the Fiesta Bowl for the first time since 2017 and the Cotton Bowl for the first time since 2019. If selected, it would be James Franklin’s fifth appearance at a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Meanwhile, No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida State make up the top five, while No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Missouri, and No. 10 Louisville round out the rest of the teams ranked above Penn State. Additionally, No. 17 Iowa is the only other ranked Big Ten team. 

Penn State has one more game remaining in the regular season against Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. on Black Friday at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It’ll be televised on NBC.

The next College Football Playoff rankings will be released at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 28, on ESPN.