It’s tough to make the College Football Playoff in the first year of a program, but it seemed like Matt Campbell and his Penn State Nittany Lions had an outside shot with their schedule. They escaped high-stakes battles with powerhouses like Ohio State and Indiana, so they had a path to the big dance if they took care of business.
But unfortunately, the Wisconsin Badgers got the best of them on Saturday and now a trip to the playoff is a futile hope. Penn State dropped in this week’s updated edition of ESPN’s Football Power Index, and its playoff odds are in free fall.
The index gives the Blue and White just a 9.3% chance of making the playoffs, down nearly 30% from last week. Maybe there’s still a chance if they win every game left on their schedule,
but that feels like a lot to ask for after being bested by Wisconsin.
Campbell and his team can still earn a trip to a prestigious Bowl Game at the end of the season, though. Penn State even got a Bowl Game last year in a season that felt like one of the worst in decades for the program. But still, squandering such a favorable path stings a little bit for a group that could have really used the experience
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State’s playoff odds plummet after loss to Wisconsin
