Penn State Football Ranked No. 7 in Final AP Top 25 Poll

Penn State football has finished the 2022 season as a top-10 team.

Following Georgia’s dominant 65-7 win over TCU in the National Championship game, the final AP Top 25 Poll came out a little bit past midnight. The Nittany Lions moved up two spots to No. 7 in the final poll after their 35-21 Rose Bowl victory over Utah. Penn State was ranked No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff Poll that came out on Dec. 4.

Penn State is one of three Big Ten teams ranked in the poll, joining Michigan (No. 3) and Ohio State (No. 4). Five other Big Ten teams — Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Maryland and Illinois — earned votes. USC and UCLA, both of which will join the conference in 2024, finished the season ranked No. 12 and No. 21, respectively.

After accumulating an 11-11 record over the previous two seasons, James Franklin’s program bounced back in a major way in 2022 with an 11-2 record and reinserted itself in the national conversation. The Nittany Lions captured their second-ever Rose Bowl victory this season, with the other coming back in 1995 with a 38-20 win over Oregon.

While there will be a new quarterback at the helm of Penn State’s 2023 offense, the team returns a ton of star-studded talent. Running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen will aim to build off historic freshman seasons, while Abdul Carter, Kalen King, and Chop Robinson will anchor Manny Diaz’s defense.

Penn State football’s 2023 season will kick off on Sept. 2 with a home matchup against West Virginia.