How far did Penn State football fall in the AP top-25 rankings after the loss to Ohio State?
Penn State is heading the wrong way in the AP Poll.
The Nittany Lions (9-2) dropped three spots to No. 12 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings, which were released Sunday afternoon. The fall was expected after the tough 28-17 road loss to Ohio State on Saturday, even if the Buckeyes remain ranked at No. 2.
Among the teams to leap-frog Penn State included Baylor (10-1), Michigan (9-2), Minnesota (10-1) and Florida (9-2). However, Penn State also jumped up over Oregon (9-2), which dropped eight spots to No. 14 with a 31-28 loss to Arizona State. The Nittany Lions also had 903 voting points Sunday; they had 1,030 last week.
This is still the 54th straight week that Penn State is ranked in the AP Top 25, making it the country’s fifth-longest streak behind Alabama (193), Ohio State (128), Clemson (82) and Oklahoma (57).
As it stands, both CBS Sports and 247 Sports have entirely different views on the Nittany Lions’ bowl destination. 247 Sports’ Brad Crawford projects an Outback Bowl against Texas A&M, while CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm expects a Rose Bowl involving Oregon.
But, as we’ve reiterated all season, the bowls won’t be written in stone until after the conference championships are all played. Selection Sunday kicks off at noon Dec. 8, and the Nittany Lions’ destination could change based on how the teams ahead of them fare.
The AP Poll actually does not factor into the College Football Playoff rankings, the ones that really matter. But the poll does act as a nice barometer to how the committee might rank PSU in its fourth set of rankings this Tuesday. The AP Poll can sometimes offer a sneak peek at what those rankings look like.
And, in the current AP Poll, Penn State remains in OK position compared to the rest of the conference. No. 2 Ohio State is still the team to beat, followed by No. 9 Minnesota, No. 10 Michigan, No. 12 Penn State, No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 19 Iowa.
The next AP Poll will be released 2 p.m. Dec 1.
The full top-25 rankings are below:
1.. LSU 1,537
2. Ohio State 1,486
3. Clemson 1,440
4. Georgia 1,347
5. Alabama 1,283
6. Utah 1,231
7. Oklahoma 1,189
8. Florida 1,058
9. Minnesota 996
10. Michigan 913
11. Baylor 910
12. Penn State 903
13. Wisconsin 791
14. Oregon 784
15. Notre Dame 701
16. Auburn 635
17. Memphis 535
18. Cincinnati 518
19. Iowa 510
20. Boise State 410
21. Oklahoma State 266
22. Appalachian State 206
23. Virginia Tech 147
24. Navy 99
25. USC 79
Others receiving votes: Iowa State 74, Virginia 38, Texas A&M 27, Air Force 22, SMU 9, Arizona State 4, Louisiana-Lafayette 1
This story was originally published November 24, 2019 at 2:09 PM.
