Penn State football landed at No. 15 in the first AP Top 25 poll of the 2019 college football season.
The Nittany Lions have now been ranked in the first AP Top 25 poll of the season for three straight years. They were the No. 10 team entering last season and started 2017 as the No. 6 team in the country. Before 2017, Penn State hadn’t earned a preseason ranking in the AP Top 25 poll since 2010.
James Franklin’s program is one of seven Big Ten teams listed in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. It was ranked behind Ohio State (No. 5) and Michigan (No. 7) and ahead of Michigan State (No. 18), Wisconsin (No. 19), Iowa (No. 20), and Nebraska (No. 24).
Clemson topped the poll, followed by Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma.
In addition to the AP Top 25 poll, Penn State checked in at No. 14 in the first Coaches’ Poll of the 2019 season, which was released on August 1. The Nittany Lions finished last season at the No. 17 spot in the AP Top 25 poll after a 27-24 defeat to Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl.
Penn State’s 2019 season will get started at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 31 with a home contest against Idaho.
