Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Land in Top-15 of College Football Playoff Rankings

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Penn State Nittany Lions have crashed the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings. 

Penn State fans may have been a bit surprised at the initial College Football Playoff rankings that were announced Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions are currently ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

However, the selection committee must like what it has seen recently from the Nittany Lions. Penn State landed at No. 12 in Tuesday’s rankings.

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Having won four straight games, including an upset of then-No. 2 Ohio State, Penn State has completely turned its season around. After a Week 2 loss at Pittsburgh and a blowout loss at Michigan on September 24, things looked bleak for head coach James Franklin and his squad.

All the negativity that was surrounding the program is long gone at this point. Major improvements have been made on both sides of the ball, particularly on defense. The Nittany Lions were decimated on defense earlier int eh year, but look like a different unit now with linebackers Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell back on the field.

On offense, new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead looks to finally have things rolling the way he wants. After a slow start, the Nittany Lions have turned into an exciting, quick-strike unit.

After a 62-24 win last week at Purdue, Penn State is still in the hunt for the Big Ten East Division title. Up next is a tricky home game with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Big Ten Conference was well-represented in the first College Football Playoff rankings. Five teams are on the list, with Michigan (3), Ohio State (6), Wisconsin (8), and Nebraska (10) all in the top-10.

The entire list of rankings can be seen here.

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