Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Move Up in Latest AP Top 25 Poll

Penn State football moved up to the No. 12 spot in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.

The Nittany Lions were idle this weekend, but a number of teams ahead of them in last week’s rankings lost in week 4. Notre Dame moved down to No. 10 following its defeat at No. 3 Georgia, and Michigan tumbled all the way to No. 20 after Wisconsin, which moved up to No. 8 this week, picked up a dominant 35-14 victory over the Wolverines at Camp Randall Stadium. Additionally, Utah fell nine spots to No. 19 after losing on the road against USC, which moved back into the poll at No. 21

James Franklin’s program has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for 45 consecutive weeks. That’s the fifth-longest active streak in all of college football behind Alabama (184 consecutive weeks), Ohio State (118), Clemson (73), and Oklahoma (47). Penn State began this season at No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll and has moved up three spots since then thanks to a perfect 3-0 record in non-conference play.

In addition to the new AP Top 25 poll, the Nittany Lions were ranked at No. 11 in this week’s Coaches’ Poll. That’s a one-spot improvement from its previous ranking of No. 12 last week.

No. 12 Penn State (3-0) will open conference play at 8 p.m. Friday against the Maryland Terrapins. The game will be played in College Park and broadcast nationally on FS1.