Penn State back in AP Poll at No. 10 in Week 4 rankings
After a multiple-week absence, Penn State is back in the AP Top 25 Poll. Big Ten teams were eligible for the poll Sunday for the first time since late-August, and the Nittany Lions checked in at No. 10.
Penn State previously was ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Poll on Aug. 24 but voters could only rank teams that were then scheduled to play going forward — eliminating Big Ten, Pac-12, MAC and Mountain West teams from consideration. The Big Ten announced Sept. 16 that it will play this fall.
Penn State received 840 voting points in this week’s rankings. The team had 1,147 points in the preseason poll.
This marked the fourth consecutive year that the Nittany Lions were ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. The program has finished in the top-10 of the AP Poll three of the last four seasons, ending the year as high as No. 7 after a Big Ten Championship-winning season in 2016.
Even without Penn State having played a game, CBS Sports currently projects the Nittany Lions to take on Auburn in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 in Glendale, Arizona.
Penn State is in good shape in the AP Poll when it comes to the rest of the Big Ten. Ohio State still leads the conference at No. 6, followed by Penn State, No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 23 Michigan.
Minnesota and Iowa were ranked in the preseason top 25, but were left out this week. The Golden Gophers and Hawkeyes both received votes.
Head coach James Franklin told reporters in August — after the Big Ten initially decided to postpone its fall sports season — that he was frustrated his team wouldn’t have the chance to play because he felt this could be a “special season” for his group.
Now, Penn State has an opportunity to prove just that starting with its first game Oct. 24 at Indiana.
The next AP Poll will be released Oct. 4 at 2 p.m.
The full top-25 rankings are below:
1. Clemson (2-0), 1,542
2. Alabama (1-0), 1,473
3. Florida (1-0), 1,324
4. Georgia (1-0), 1,310
5. Notre Dame (2-0), 1,231
6. Ohio State (0-0), 1,169
7. Auburn (1-0), 1,133
8. Miami (3-0), 1,045
9. Texas (2-0), 862
10. Penn State (0-0), 840
11. UCF (2-0), 743
12. North Carolina (1-0), 734
13. Texas A&M (1-0), 705
14. Oregon (0-0), 651
15. Cincinnati (2-0), 646
16. Mississippi State (1-0), 590
17. Oklahoma State (2-0), 555
18. Oklahoma (1-1), 535
19. Wisconsin (0-0), 510
20. LSU (0-1), 401
21. Tennessee (1-0), 377
22. Brigham Young (2-0), 295
23. Michigan (0-0), 277
24. Pittsburgh (3-0), 248
25. Memphis (1-0), 196
Others receiving votes: Virginia Tech 195, Louisiana-Lafayette 126, Minnesota 110, USC 104, Kansas State 60, SMU 37, Marshall 31, Baylor 22, Iowa 16, Utah 14, Virginia 12, Arkansas State 11, UAB 5, Washington 4, Kentucky 4, Louisville 4, Army 3
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 2:44 PM.
