Penn State won't need the Big Ten title game to get into the College Football Playoff, but tiebreakers can still get them to Indianapolis.

Penn State football began its stretch drive to the College Football Playoff with a dominant, all-forces effort on the road. The Nittany Lions, No. 4 in the latest CFP rankings, started strong for the second-straight week, then poured it on as a 9-1 team (6 ...

If Ohio State does not prevail against Indiana this week, it will be eliminated from reaching the Big Ten championship game.

The projected College Football Playoff bracket saw some shakeup after Week 12 of the season. BYU suffered its first loss of the season when it was upset 16-13 by Kansas on Saturday night, while Georgia defeated Tennessee 31-17 in an outcome that reshuffled the SEC Championship game race.

Penn State came in at No. 4 in the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, earning it the No. 6 seed in the new projected bracket with only three weeks left in the regular season. Here’s what it all means for the Nittany Lions as they look to make the playoff for the first time.

Penn State’s chances of reaching the CFP improved after rebounding from the loss to Ohio State and beating Washington. The Nittany Lions’ chances to get in sit at 80.7%, up from 74.6% last week, according to ESPN. Penn State has the fifth-best odds of getting in, behind only Oregon (95.5%), Indiana (92.8%), Ohio State (92.6%) and Texas (81.4%).