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Penn State Ranked No. 15 In First College Football Playoff Ranking

Well, this is anti-dramatic.

Central Michigan v Penn State Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

The start of November brought the first College Football Playoff ranking of the season, with the Nittany Lions coming in at No. 15.

All in all, this is a good sign for Penn State should it want to reach a New Year’s Six bowl game. There’s been some projections that Illinois — should it win the Big Ten West — could sneak into the NY6 instead of a 10-2 Penn State. But given that the Illini are ranked behind Penn State (at No. 16) despite being 7-1, it likely shows that the committee won’t reward what will probably be a 9-3 team even if it has a Big Ten West crown.

Regardless, for Penn State the main focus of the season shouldn’t be on rankings, but instead, just winning the season out. While the prize of a New Year’s Six bowl is certainly nice, the more important piece to that is ending the regular season on a four-game winning streak. Whatever happens after 10-2 is just the cherry on top.