Penn State in College Football Playoff poll: Peach, Cotton bowls alive

One step down, two to go for Penn State football to secure the biggest bowl game possible.

The College Football Playoff committee did its part Tuesday evening, moving Penn State to No. 10 in its final rankings. Most importantly, it kept these 10-2 Nittany Lions just ahead of two-loss Ole Miss and Oklahoma in the quest to qualify for a big postseason game like Cotton, Peach or Fiesta bowls.

The four College Football Playoff teams and the rest of the of the bowl games, including the New Year's Six bowls, will be announced Sunday afternoon.

The CFP's latest rankings solidify the Lions' position as one of the last at-large teams to make the biggest bowls below the playoffs − as long as a huge upset does not happen on Saturday.

For now, they are primed to secure a bid to the Peach, Cotton or Fiesta bowls − to play in a glitzy, big-city, NFL stadium, in a game with as much postseason tradition and prestige as possible.

It would give them the chance to play an opponent from the likes of Alabama, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Missouri − potentially even current No. 1 Georgia. (They could, of course, also be paired with the mandatory Group of 5 representative such as Tulane).

This should work well, barring a stunning upset on Saturday.

The only spoilers could be lower-ranked Iowa (No. 16) and Oklahoma State (No. 18). Either would grab a crucial automatic New Year's Six bid if it wins its championship game this weekend − knocking Penn State down to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. There, the Lions would play an SEC team (presumably Ole Miss) on New Year's Day in Camping World Stadium.

That situation doesn't appear likely,at least according to betting lines: No. 2 Michigan is a 23-point favorite over Iowa Saturday night in Indianapolis; Texas is a 14-point favorite over the Cowboys earlier that day in Arlington, Texas.

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Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.