INDIANAPOLIS — Recent history tells us that Penn State's football team is one of the most likely programs in the country to host a college football playoff game under the expanded format.
The Nittany Lions have been ranked in the top 12 to finish six of the last eight seasons. The college football playoff has grown from four to 12 teams, with four schools hosting a first-round game on either December 20 or December 21.
"That’s probably going to be the best part of expanding the playoffs," said Todd Blackledge, the former Penn State QB and current NBC Sports analyst who led the Nittany Lions to the national championship in 1982. "You’ve earned that right, you should have that advantage. Just like NFL teams that get to host a playoff game, I mean that’s a big deal.”
The first four seeds will have a bye week in the new system. Whichever teams end up fifth through eighth will be playing at home on one of those dates.
It's hard to imagine a playoff game at Beaver Stadium a few days before Christmas.
“Honestly, I think the only thing that would come close to it in my mind would be that 2019 White Out game against Michigan, when it was so loud they couldn’t even get a playoff," laughed Penn State senior defensive lineman Dvon J-Thomas. "That’s what I’m imagining that playoff atmosphere is going to be like in Beaver Stadium if it ever gets to that.”
If it happens, it's not a guarantee the school would call for a White Out. Head Coach James Franklin said he and PSU Vice-President of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Pat Kraft strongly believe there should only be one White Out per season.
A college football playoff game could be the exception.
"We want to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position to be successful," Franklin said emphatically. "If that gives us a little bit of extra juice, then between Pat Kraft and Mother Nature, we might have one of the biggest White Outs we’ve ever had.”
Penn State begins its regular season at West Virginia on Saturday, August 31. The game will be broadcast on FOX43 at noon.