The 2025 regular season is in the books, and an interim coaching staff will see the Lions through their December 27th showdown with Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. New head coach Matt Campbell is on the scene,
and is working on putting together his coaching staff, and building the Penn State roster in his vision.
It will remain to be seen exactly how many players move on from the program, or exactly how many move in, but I expect that it will take a little bit of time for Campbell to get everything set up the way he likes it.
So MMQB asks – how long will it be until Penn State is back in the College Football Playoff?
To make the playoff, 10-2 seems to be the floor, though in any given year that may not be exactly enough, at least not to qualify as an at-large bid.
In 2024, both Miami and BYU were Power 4 schools that finished 10-2 but didn’t make the playoffs.
In 2025, Notre Dame, BYU, Vanderbilt, Utah, and Virginia were all left out with 10+ wins.
But 10-2 seems to be at least a floor for at-large teams, so for now we’ll go with that.
So, how long until Penn State goes 10-2?
In 2026, the Lions don’t play Ohio State, Oregon, or Indiana (odd thing to type), though they do play at Michigan and Washington, and will host USC.
2027 both the Hoosiers and Ducks return to the schedule, and Michigan and Washington will come to Beaver Stadium.
2028 has them hosting Indiana, Iowa, and Oregon (good year for season tickets, tbh), with a visit to USC.
Do any of those sound like 10-2 years? Funny enough I’d almost say 2026 seems like a good springboard year for Campbell, as it looks like the easiest schedule of the next 3 years. If he’s able to get his staff in place quickly, and can successfully negotiate the transfer portal and NIL this year, there’s a chance for a quick turnaround for Penn State.
If not, we may all just have to Trust the Process™ for a few years, and let Campbell work to his strengths – building a good team and maximizing potential out of his players – to get back to the CFP again.
But what do you think? What’s Penn State’s timeline to return to the Playoffs?
