When the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, 6-seed Penn State was held up as a shining example of a team that would've benefitted the most from an expanded field the e

While Notre Dame’s win against Georgia was the first win in a big bowl game in more than 30 years, Penn State is still searching for that level of win under James Franklin. The Nittany Lions had the so-called easy path to the semifinals and took advantage with a dominant win against SMU and a comfortable win against Boise State.

Penn State was unable to corral Oregon’s offense in the Big Ten Championship though, allowing 496 total yards while dropping a 45-37 decision to the then undefeated Ducks. The Nittany Lions eviscerated SMU in the first round of the CFP Playoff,