Penn State jumps into top five of AP poll after UCLA win, college football upsets
In an Associated Press Top-25 poll with much movement following a number of upsets on Saturday, Penn State football has moved to its highest ranking of the season.
The undefeated Nittany Lions now sit at No. 4 in the latest poll, which was released Sunday afternoon. That’s a three-spot bump after beating new Big Ten foe UCLA, 27-11, on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium. It’s the first time the program has been ranked this high since the 2021 season, when they were also ranked No. 4 on Oct. 3 of that year. The Nittany Lions finished that season with a 7-6 record.
Penn State travels to the West Coast this week to take on USC in what will no longer be a ranked matchup. Though they were ranked No. 11 last week, the Trojans fell out of the poll entirely after Minnesota pulled off a 24-17 upset win.
It wasn’t the only big fall. Previous No. 1 Alabama dropped six spots to No. 7 after being defeated by Vanderbilt, which achieved one of the biggest upsets in SEC history, according to CBS Sports.
Penn State remains the third highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, sitting behind Ohio State (No. 2) and Oregon (No. 3). Other ranked Big Ten teams are Indiana (tied at No. 18), Illinois (No. 23), Michigan (No. 24). Nebraska, Iowa and Washington also received votes.
With 1,305 voting points, Penn State was 43 behind Oregon and just 6 points ahead of No. 5 Georgia.
Penn State’s game against USC kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday and will air on CBS.
The full AP rankings are below.
AP Top 25
(Oct. 6, 2024)
1. Texas 1,516 (52 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State 1,473 (9 first-place votes)
3. Oregon 1,348
4. Penn State 1,305
5. Georgia 1,299
6. Miami 1,187
7. Alabama 1,182
8. Tennessee 1,001
9. Ole Miss 978
10. Clemson 861
11. Iowa State 853
11. Notre Dame 853
13. LSU 827
14. BYU 753
15. Texas A&M 702
16. Utah 473
17. Boise State 463
18. Kansas State 459
18. Indiana 459
18. Oklahoma 459
21. Missouri 352
22. Pitt 196
23. Illinois 182
24. Michigan 170
25. SMU 165
Others receiving votes: Southern Cal 98, Nebraska 51, Navy 43, Army 33, Vanderbilt 26, Arkansas 17, Washington St. 8, Iowa 8, Texas Tech 7, Syracuse 6, Washington 4, Louisville 4, Colorado 3, Kentucky 1.
