Yet another massive change to how a national champion is crowned will take place in 2027, as the College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee officially approved a bold expansion to a 24-team CFP Monday.

This sudden, large expansion has changed the outlook of many teams across college football. What was once a four-team system that seemed out of reach for almost everyone is now accessible to almost every Power Four school, and maybe some Group of Six schools.

For Penn State, a team that was defined by its close misses throughout the James Franklin era prior to the 2024 breakthrough, it gives the Nittany Lions a chance to compete for a national championship almost every year, provided they meet the bare minimum for this program.

Seven times in the last 10 seasons, Penn State was good enough to make a 24-team playoff, so what would that have looked like?

Because of the rumored format of four auto-berths for Power Four schools, an auto-bid for a Group of Six school, and 19 at-large bids, coupled with the complete elimination of conference championship games, we’ll go off the CFP rankings after the final game of the regular season, rather than the final poll.

What would it look like?

2016

No. 7 Penn State vs. winner of No. 10 Oklahoma State/No. 23 Virginia Tech

Penn State would’ve received a first-round bye after its sensational eight-game winning streak to end the regular season.

Eliminating conference title games means Penn State never gets the memorable comeback against Wisconsin or that Rose Bowl against USC, but seeing whether this magic-carpet ride of a team could make a run at the national title would’ve been worth it.

Instead, game No. 13 would’ve been hosted at Beaver Stadium against either Mason Rudolph’s Oklahoma State or a feisty Virginia Tech team.

If Penn State won? It would’ve almost certainly been a date with No. 2 Ohio State in the quarterfinal at a neutral site. A rematch of the Block Six? Yes, please.

Should Penn State have pulled it off again to make the semifinals? The Nittany Lions would’ve faced either No. 6 Wisconsin or Deshaun Watson and the eventual national champion Clemson Tigers. Blockbuster matchups.

2017

No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 24 NC State

In another life, the blown double-digit lead in Columbus, Ohio, wouldn’t have been the season-altering moment for the Nittany Lions.

In this reality, Penn State misses out on a first-round bye. The Nittany Lions are rewarded with a home game against No. 24 NC State, an 8-4 ACC team that featured Jakobi Meyers and Bradley Chubb. If they win, it’s a road trip to the No. 8 seed… Ohio State.

For the second straight year, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes rematch in the College Football Playoff. If Saquon Barkley and company got revenge, it would then be another date with Kelly Bryant and Clemson at a neutral site in the quarterfinals.

With all these “big game” opportunities, does Franklin outgrow his big-game worries, or does he only make them worse?

2018

No. 12 Penn State vs. No. 21 Northwestern

The 2018 season went off the rails with losses to Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State, which doomed Penn State to the Citrus Bowl, but in this timeline the Nittany Lions would have earned a home playoff game against the Big Ten West champions from Evanston, Illinois.

At 8-4, led by Clayton Thorson at quarterback and Greg Newsome II in the secondary, the Wildcats would be a challenge, but one Penn State could manage.

Should the Nittany Lions advance, it would be a trip to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the No. 5 Sooners, led by Heisman quarterback Kyler Murray. That’s certainly a tough cookie for a gap-year Nittany Lions team led by the final year of Trace McSorley.

2019

No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 23 Virginia

The loss to Minnesota right after the first CFP ranking put the undefeated Nittany Lions at No. 4 was a gut punch that ultimately sent Sean Clifford’s first season as starter up in smoke. In an expanded playoff, however, their season would be more than alive.

In a first-round home game, Penn State would have faced No. 23 Virginia, who in real life had a four-game winning streak to end the season, capped by a massive win over No. 24 Virginia Tech that sent them to the ACC championship game. In this timeline, that Commonwealth Cup game would be a CFP elimination game in Rivalry Week. Sign me up.

If Penn State wins that one, the Nittany Lions would go on the road to face No. 7 Baylor, undefeated into mid-November under third-year head coach and Penn State alum Matt Rhule. Certainly a daunting task, but achievable.

If the Nittany Lions won that, it’s a trip to the quarterfinals to play against No. 2 LSU. Yep, that LSU team with Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Set the spread at Tigers -40.

2022

No. 8 Penn State vs. winner of No. 9 Clemson/No. 24 Mississippi State

Two bad seasons in the middle of the Clifford era shook confidence in the program, but the team rebounded to go 10-2 and win the Rose Bowl in 2022. With a 24-team playoff, this team would’ve just barely snuck into a first-round bye.

After that bye, Penn State would’ve either gotten a chance to play that Clemson team at Beaver Stadium or an 8-4 Mississippi State that snuck in with a memorable Egg Bowl victory on Thanksgiving.

A potentially dark storyline here would’ve been the untimely passing of their head coach, Mike Leach, on December 12, which, instead of being during bowl prep and the offseason, came during a playoff run.

If Penn State pulled off the victory at home, it would get a big humbling in the quarterfinals against the eventual national champion Georgia.

2023

No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 23 Clemson

The 2023 team, another 10-2 season, wound up playing in a meaningless Peach Bowl instead of letting former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s ferocious defense fly in a playoff setting.

In this reality, the Nittany Lions get that chance with a big home game against a Clemson team that started 4-4, but rallied to win a pair of ranked games down the stretch.

If they win that, it’s a date with Quinn Ewers and No. 7 Texas in Austin, Texas. Should they go on the road and pull off the upset? It’s a rematch with No. 2 Michigan at a neutral site (or a date with Noah Fifita and No. 15 Arizona with a big upset).

2024

No. 3 Penn State vs. winner of No. 14 South Carolina/No. 19 Missouri

In the final full season of the Franklin era, Penn State played well enough in an 11-1 campaign to make a four-team CFP, but by then, it was a 12-team playoff.

In this reality, it would’ve been Penn State’s third-ever first-round bye, with the Nittany Lions awaiting the winner of a battle between SEC rivals Missouri and South Carolina.

Should Penn State win that game at Beaver Stadium, it would either get a rematch against No. 6 Ohio State at a neutral site or face No. 11 Alabama in a revival of a dormant rivalry.

That team had potential, and while I don’t see them beating the eventual national champion Buckeyes, if they did, we would see them face the No. 2 Longhorns or take on No. 7 Tennessee, No. 10 Boise State, or even No. 15 Arizona State. Hell, the Nittany Lions could even face No. 18 BYU or Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes from Colorado.

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