Penn State football is ranked in the top 10 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Sunday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions moved up one spot to No. 10 following a 44-13 win against Ball State in the home opener at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Penn State started out the season ranked No. 19.
After last week’s nail-biter defensive struggle at Wisconsin, Penn State cruised against the Cardinals to move to 2-0. The Nittany Lion offense, led by Sean Clifford’s 230 passing yards and two total touchdowns, opened up an early lead with methodical touchdown drives on each of its opening possessions and never looked back.
Defensive coordinator Brent Pry’s unit turned in another strong performance, holding Ball State to 295 yards and one touchdown coming in garbage time with mostly second- and third-team defensive players on the field.
Next up for the Nittany Lions is a White Out showdown on Saturday against Auburn, which moved up three spots to No. 22 after throttling FCS foe Alabama State 62-0 to improve to 2-0. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and the game airs on ABC.
Penn State remains the third highest-ranked Big Team. Iowa (2-0) jumped from No. 10 to No. 5 after a win over Iowa State, while Ohio State (1-1) fell from No. 3 to No. 9 after losing to Oregon. The Nittany Lions visit the Hawkeyes on Oct. 9 and the Buckeyes on Oct. 30.
Wisconsin (1-1) held steady at No. 18, and Michigan (2-0), who Penn State hosts on Nov. 13, entered the poll at No. 25. Michigan State, Indiana and Maryland each received votes.
In the USA Today Coaches Poll, Penn State moved up one spot to No. 12. Iowa came in at No. 7, Ohio State No. 11, Wisconsin at No. 17 and Michigan at No. 25. Auburn is No. 20 in the Coaches Poll.
AP Poll:
1 Alabama 2-0 1,572 (60) 2 Georgia 2-0 1,514 (3) 3 Oklahoma 2-0 1,402 4 Oregon 2-0 1,355 5 Iowa 2-0 1,263 6 Clemson 1-1 1,246 7 Texas A&M 2-0 1,206 8 Cincinnati 2-0 1,149 9 Ohio State 1-1 1,029 10 Penn State 2-0 1,005 11 Florida 2-0 935 12 Notre Dame 2-0 926 13 UCLA 2-0 804 14 Iowa State 1-1 593 15 Virginia Tech 2-0 591 16 Coastal Carolina 2-0 562 17 Ole Miss 2-0 550 18 Wisconsin 1-1 499 19 Arizona State 2-0 341 20 Arkansas 2-0 277 21 North Carolina 1-1 268 22 Auburn 2-0 233 23 BYU 2-0 213 24 Miami 1-1 177 25 Michigan 2-0 163
Coaches Poll:
| 1 | Alabama | 2-0 | 1,599 (63) |
| 2 | Georgia | 2-0 | 1,534 (1) |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 2-0 | 1,432 |
| 4 | Oregon | 2-0 | 1,335 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 2-0 | 1,284 |
| 6 | Clemson | 1-1 | 1,259 |
| 7 | Iowa | 2-0 | 1,149 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 2-0 | 1,096 |
| 9 | Florida | 2-0 | 1,078 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 2-0 | 1,040 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 1-1 | 1,026 |
| 12 | Penn State | 2-0 | 981 |
| 13 | UCLA | 2-0 | 775 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 1-1 | 604 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 2-0 | 581 |
| 16 | Ole Miss | 2-0 | 535 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 1-1 | 528 |
| 18 | Coastal Carolina | 2-0 | 489 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 1-1 | 287 |
| 20 | Auburn | 2-0 | 263 |
| 21 | Arizona State | 2-0 | 246 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | 2-0 | 222 |
| 23 | BYU | 2-0 | 207 |
| 24 | Arkansas | 2-0 | 191 |
| 25 | Michigan | 2-0 | 176 |
