ESPN: Penn State Remains in College Football Playoff Chase Despite Loss

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The Penn State Nittany Lions put themselves behind the eight-ball on Saturday.

PSU entered the season knowing Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon were not on the schedule. Given the way Michigan has started the season, the Nittany Lions should have a great chance to win that game, even though it's on the road. 

No. 18 USC, who Penn State plays on Oct. 10, is the only team currently ranked on the Nittany Lions’ team. 

All that explains why it kind of feels like the sky is falling in State College after the Nittany Lions inexplicably blew a 17-point lead against a Wisconsin Badgers team that hasn't made a bowl game since 2023. PSU entered the contest No. 13 with a great chance to slide into the College Football Playoff thanks to its schedule.

After losing to Wisconsin, there are worries if the 24 transfers from Big 12 program Iowa State are god enough to help Penn State win eight games this fall. 

Heather Dinich of ESPN released the bubble watch for the CFP on Tuesday. She suggested Penn State is still hanging around despite losing to the Badgers at home on Saturday.

That "hanging around" status can't have anything to do with their resume. Penn State will enter the month of October without having beaten a Power 4 program this season. The Nittany Lions have yet to put a good win up for the selection committee. They don't have many chances to add an elite win for their resume down the stretch, and USC might be their only chance to do so.

Penn State has a huge turnaround game on the road on Friday night when they play a 2-1 Northwestern team that came within a touchdown of Indiana in Week 4. If PSU wins that game, maybe it gets a little bit of credibility. But there's nothing to point to now.

Penn State HC Matt Campbell has much to improve

The loss to Wisconsin exposed issues on both sides of the ball for first-year head coach Matt Campbell. The defense needs to show it can play for a full 60 minutes. On Saturday, the defense gave up two long touchdown drives to Wisconsin, which isn't known for a robust and efficient offense.

Penn State needs to fix its offensive line play if it hopes to run the ball in the Big Ten and give Rocco Becht a chance to play quarterback.

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