College Football Playoff 2017: Projected top 4 after Week 6

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

The Penn State Nittany Lions moved into the third spot in the Week 7 AP Poll as they arrive at a tough stretch of games. They defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 31-7, although they only led 10-0 at halftime.

Running back Saquon Barkley was held to just 75 rushing yards on 16 carries even though he scored two rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Trace McSorley threw for 245 passing yards and a touchdown. He also had a rushing touchdown.

The Nittany Lions defense forced three turnovers and held Northwestern to 265 total yards of offense. It was the third time they held an opponent below 300 total yards of offense as they are 3-0 in the Big Ten play.

The Nittany Lions face the 17th-ranked Michigan Wolverines this week then after that, they face the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and 21st-ranked Michigan State Spartans on the road. If they can go undefeated these next few weeks, a College Football Playoff berth is theirs to lose.

It’s hard not to see a one-loss Big Ten team in this year’s playoff field. The Wolverines already fell to Michigan State in Week 6, someone else is bound to lose at least once before it’s all said and done. Penn State still has a shot to stay undefeated as entering a gauntlet of conference games.