A College Football Playoff appearance used to be an extremely difficult feat that only a handful of teams got to achieve each year. While it’s still a prestigious tournament, it’s far easier to get into now since the field was expanded from four teams to 12 a few years ago.

This helped Penn State clinch their first playoff berth in school history back in 2024 before a significant drop off last season. Matt Campbell and his staff have an uphill battle to correct the disaster that the Nittany Lions experienced last year, but they have some believers in their corner.

Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today made a list of his top-five sleepers who could contend for a national championship and it featured Penn State. Though they were the last team mentioned and were labeled a “Hail Mary sleeper,” the fact that they are being considered at all is an accomplishment in itself.

Many people expected this to be a retooling year where Campbell figured out how to navigate a tougher conference in the Big Ten and took some time to build better recruiting classes for the future. However, the school got a big break on their 2026 schedule, somehow dodging both Oregon and Ohio State, with the Michigan Wolverines appearing to be the only team on the Nittany Lions’ level.

This favorable schedule, combined with the roster continuity the team projects to have with a large number of transfers from Iowa State, gives Penn State a real shot at getting to the College Football Playoff. If they can just take care of business and beat the teams they’re supposed to, then there’s at least a chance of them making a run.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Could Penn State contend for national championship in 2026?