ESPN’s Football Power Index is much kinder to Penn State than the rest of the world has been. Despite back-to-back losses for the program, being dropped from the US LBM Coaches Poll, and being taken off the AP Poll, ESPN only dropped the school five spots on the index.
The Nittany Lions hold a 13.7 power score, which is only down 1.9 points from last week, but the odds to win the Big Ten and College Football Playoff are where they’ve seen the biggest difference. The team’s odds to win the conference are now astronomically low, with EPSN giving them just a 0.1% chance.
It would take an outright collapse from multiple teams at the top of the standings, and Penn State would have to win out or come close to it. Basically, the odds are slim to none,
and the same is true for the playoff.
The blue and white have a 0.9% chance of making the big dance, which seems almost impossible with only one ranked opponent on the team’s schedule.
This is why Penn State needed to bank these early games against middle-of-the-pack Big Ten teams, because it has now dug itself a hole it likely can’t climb out of. Just ten days ago the Nittany Lions’ odds to make the playoff were approaching 50%, and now they are next to nothing.
These last two weeks have been a real wake up call for the team and how far away from contention they truly are. They still have a chance at a Bowl Game, but the hopes of playing meaningful football are gone.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Where Penn State ranks on ESPN’s updated Football Power Index
