Penn State was rewarded for its Week 1 win over Marshall.
The Nittany Lions jumped two spots higher to No. 16 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll following a 45-0 dismantling of the Thundering Herd on Saturday, passing up two Big Ten schools in Michigan and Washington.
The Wolverines eked out a 13-12 win over Western Michigan last Saturday via a last-second Hail Mary, dropping out of the rankings entirely, while the Huskies were unimpressive during a victory over in-state rival Washington State, falling two spots to No. 19. With those moves, Penn State is now the fifth-highest ranked Big Ten team, trailing No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Oregon and No. 14 USC.
The Nittany Lions will face USC on Oct. 10 and Washington on Nov. 7 as the only currently ranked teams on the schedule. Minnesota, which Penn State faces on Nov. 14, received four total points in the “others receiving votes” category.
The full top 25 is as follows:
1. Ohio State
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Texas
5. Indiana
6. Oregon
7. Miami (FL)
8. LSU
9. Ole Miss
10. Texas A&M
11. Oklahoma
12. Alabama
13. Texas Tech
14. USC
15. BYU
16. Penn State
17. SMU
18. Tennessee
19. Washington
20. Utah
21. Iowa
22. Houston
23. Missouri
24. Louisville
25. Virginia
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