Elsewhere, ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura have Penn State in the field as well. Both project Penn State playing a road game as the No. 9 seed: Schlabach has Penn State heading to Oregon, Bonagura pits the Nittany Lions vs. Georgia.

Big Ten foes meet when the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) and the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0) play on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at Beaver Stadium. The contest will air on NBC,

Using PennLive reporter Johnny McGonigal's AP top 25 ballot, here are where the Nittany Lions stand in the CFP picture.

Week five of the college football season has come and gone, and it gave us some of the best games of the season so far. We definitely saw a game of the year candidate in Tuscaloosa as Alabama narrowly defeated Georgia in a thriller after going up 28-0 early.