Penn State falls in AP rankings after Ohio State loss, while Buckeyes get company at No. 2
Penn State (6-2, 3-2) returned to a familiar spot in the AP Top 25 college football rankings released Sunday.
The Nittany Lions dropped three spots to No. 16 after their 44-31 loss Saturday to Ohio State (8-0, 5-0). This isn’t the first time this season Penn State been in that position: Two weeks ago, the Nittany Lions fell to the 16th spot after a loss to Michigan.
Georgia and Ohio State kept the top two spots in Sunday’s poll, but Tennessee moved into a tie at No. 2 after handling Kentucky.
The top 10 was otherwise unchanged except for USC, which moved up one spot to No. 9, and UCLA, which moved up two spots to No. 10.
Kansas State took the biggest leap forward, rising nine spots to No. 13 after a romp over Oklahoma State. The Cowboys dropped nine places after the loss, but that wasn’t even the biggest fall. Wake Forest took the largest plunge in the rankings, falling 10 places to No. 20 after losing to unranked Louisville.
Penn State received 641 voting points, 38 behind No. 15 LSU and 99 ahead of No. 17 North Carolina.
The Big Ten has four teams in the Top 25 poll, though Penn State is ranked the lowest: No. 2 Ohio State (in a tie with Tennessee), No. 4 Michigan, No. 14 Illinois and No. 16 Penn State.
Next up for the Nittany Lions is a trip to Bloomington to face Indiana at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC. The Hoosiers (3-5, 1-4) are coming off their bye week and are riding a five-game losing streak.
This week will bring the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings. Those will be released Tuesday night.
The full AP Top 25 poll is below.
AP Top 25
(Oct. 30, 2022)
1. Georgia (8-0), 1,528 (30 1st-place votes)
2. Ohio State (8-0), 1,500 (15)
2. Tennessee (8-0), 1,500 (18)
4. Michigan (8-0), 1,378
5. Clemson (8-0), 1,312
6. Alabama (7-1), 1,258
7. TCU (8-0), 1,220
8. Oregon (7-1), 1,135
9. USC (7-1), 1,010
10. UCLA (7-1), 979
11. Ole Miss (8-1), 905
12. Utah (6-2), 876
13. Kansas State (6-2), 772
14. Illinois (7-1), 741
15. LSU (6-2), 679
16. Penn State (6-2), 641
17. North Carolina (7-1), 542
18. Oklahoma State (6-2), 513
19. Tulane (7-1), 455
20. Wake Forest (6-2), 388
21. North Carolina State (6-2), 285
22. Syracuse (6-2), 205
23. Liberty (7-1), 136
24. Oregon State (6-2), 129
25. UCF (6-2), 111
Others receiving votes: Texas 58, Kentucky 57, Maryland 36, Cincinnati 32, Notre Dame 24, Washington 12, Arkansas 11, Baylor 9, Coastal Carolina 8, Florida State 8, Troy 7, Mississippi State 5, Boise State 4, East Carolina 2, South Carolina 2, Louisville 1, UTSA 1
This story was originally published October 30, 2022 at 2:29 PM.