Penn State’s Path to Win the National Championship
As the College Football Playoff opens its first year with a twelve-team playoff, teams are faced with challenges getting to the promise land, the National Championship. In previous years, it was one game that allowed them to reach the big show, but now teams will have to win two or three games to get to the final showdown. Penn State is a team to look out for with this new format, despite dropping the Big Ten Championship to Oregon in a one-score game that ultimately could have been won. Penn State hopes to take advantage of the easy path they were delegated and do some damage in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff.
The Nittany Lions will start off with a new feature in this year’s playoff of hosting a home game. Their opponent is the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, who were defeated on a last-second field goal in the ACC Championship on Saturday, suffering just their second loss of the season. There was controversy on whether they were deserving of this spot with the lack of true competition they have faced this season, facing just one ranked team in BYU, their other loss of the season. They are led by a powerful run game with Brashard Smith. Beaver Stadium is a tough environment for a team like SMU to go on the road and win this game. Anything is possible in the playoffs, but Penn State should get this done with ease as being a true test of strength and grit for the Mustangs that they haven’t seen all year. The competition will be played on December 21st.
Penn State would then go on to play Boise State. Boise State ran away with the Mountain West Conference, and wouldn’t be where they are today without their Heisman candidate Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty turned heads everywhere, putting up video game numbers and carrying them to a conference title. While the pass game is not nonexistent, it will be hard for Jeanty to carry them through another test of Big Ten competition after Boise State lost to Oregon 37-34. The matchup will be played as the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona at State Farm Stadium on New Year’s Eve.
The competition increased as Penn State would go on to the Capital One Orange Bowl. Their competition is amongst Notre Dame, Indiana, and Georgia for who they would face in the January 9th competition. Indiana Hoosiers have turned heads with their new coach taking this team and turning it completely around. Notre Dame is a tough opponent to face after dropping just one game this season in upset fashion to Northern Illinois University. Georgia Bulldogs would be the toughest of the three, though their production isn’t comparable to what it’s been in previous years.
Going on to the championship game on January 20th, Penn State would have a competition against one of the following: Arizona State, Texas, Clemson, Oregon, Ohio State, or Tennessee. Having familiarity with two of the opponents can be an advantage, and whilst they are out of Arizona State and Clemson’s tier, any of these teams would put up a great fight against the Blue and White. The offense will need to step up after Drew Allar’s two interceptions arguably cost them the game against the Oregon Ducks. Defensively, this team has gotten home to the quarterback all year and will need to continue to do so in order to make a run at this year’s National Championship.
