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<p>Penn State keeps climbing up in the rankings. But the Nittany Lions&#8217; path to the College Football Playoff remains narrow.</p><p>A Lions&#8217; win over Michigan State Saturday needs to be coupled with an Ohio State victory against Michigan. After that, they would need to win the Big Ten title on Dec. 3, most likely against Wisconsin.</p><p>Would that be enough? Maybe not. It might depend on how willing the selection committee is to take two teams from the same conference.</p><p>Penn State moved up one spot to No. 7 in the latest CFP rankings on Tuesday night. Afterward, however, the committee chairman said the Lions have plenty of ground to make up on the Buckeyes.</p><p>&#8220;Does the selection committee see a small margin of separation this week between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State?&#8221; Kirby Hocutt said. &#8220;We do not.&#8221;</p><p>The Buckeyes, Hocutt said, are &#8220;an extremely talented football team. The committee continues to be impressed with their three wins over current CFP top-25 teams.&#8221;</p><p>In other words, the Lions shouldn&#8217;t count on their victory over the Bucks being a trump card for a Playoff spot if they manage to win the Big Ten.</p><p>Hocutt said that metrics like head-to-head wins and conference championships are to break ties &#8220;when teams are very comparable, when there is little to no separation between particular teams.&#8221;</p><p>A better prospect for Penn State may be to watch No. 5 Washington. The Huskies play at No. 23 Washington State on Friday. A win in Pullman would send them to the Pac-12 title game against No. 9 Colorado or No. 12 USC.</p><p>The toughest call for the committee might be if the last spot comes down to a 12-1 Washington vs. an 11-2 Big Ten champ.</p><p>&#8220;The (Huskies&#8217;) strength of schedule is still in question,&#8221; Hocutt said. &#8220;We spent considerable time talking about Washington at the 5 spot and believe that&#8217;s where they are at this point in the college football season, but there&#8217;s a lot to like about Washington.</p><p>&#8220;Their strength of schedule still gives the committee pause at this time from ranking them any higher.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Walker says goodbye</strong></p><p>It looked bad from the moment Von Walker hit the turf. It turned out to be his last snap in college.</p><p>Penn State&#8217;s special teams captain suffered a knee injury right before halftime on Saturday at Rutgers, needing the help of Franklin and head trainer Tim Bream just to get off the field.</p><p>&#8220;It saddens me to say that my career at Penn State has come to an end,&#8221; Walker wrote on Twitter Tuesday. &#8220;I&#8217;m writing this message to say thank you to my teammates, coaching staff, our fans, and the whole Penn State community for having my back and supporting me through my career.</p><p>&#8220;It has been an unbelievable ride and I&#8217;ll never forget my time here at Penn State.&#8221;</p><p>Walker is one of three players who won&#8217;t be able to suit up after taking part in senior day ceremonies on Saturday because of a knee injury. Fellow linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White and tackle Paris Palmer have also been ruled out for the season.</p><p>Originally a walk-on for Bill O&#8217;Brien, Walker received a scholarship from James Franklin before the 2015 season and was then elected a team captain for the next two years. He is just the eighth player in 130 seasons of Penn State football to serve as a captain for multiple years.</p><p>His impact on the Lions&#8217; coverage teams will be missed. His seven special teams tackles are good for second on the team. And he had two huge stops on back-to-back kickoffs in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, stuffing the Buckeyes at the 13 and the 11 to help seal the upset.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s the one that kind of spoke to the team after the win last week,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;I just mentioned to him that not only has Von had a significant role on our team the last two and a half years, but he&#8217;ll continue to have a significant role moving forward from a leadership perspective and those types of things.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Trace McSorley and Penn State are hoping the College Football Playoff field opens up like Rutgers&#8217; defense did on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_AP16325078835694.jpg</photo0><caption0>Trace McSorley and Penn State are hoping the College Football Playoff field opens up like Rutgers&#8217; defense did on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Mel Evans | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p>Michigan State at Penn State</p><p>3:30 p.m., Saturday, ESPN</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Two Big Ten teams in the Playoff? Penn State is hoping so