Last season Penn State was solidly in the NCAA field for only the 10th time ever and first time in nine years. It was the most complete Penn State team in a very long time, and one that was poised to do some real damage. It didn’t happen, and Penn State is now back to being Penn State-y.
COVID limited them to just four non-conference games, preventing them from padding their record with some necessary wins. Now the computer numbers are more than good enough, but they are not getting in at 8-12. I suppose they have a small chance if they win their final three games against Purdue, Minnesota, and Maryland, plus grab a couple of games in the Big Ten Tournament, but it seems very unlikely.