Penn State took care of things on their home field on Saturday night with a victory over Illinois with a 21-7 win. But it was a loss by a team ranked ahead of them in the polls that led to the Nittany Lions managing to move up a spot in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll. There is also a new no. 1 team in the nation after a wild ending to an SEC heavyweight fight Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
Penn State moved up one spot this week by jumping from no. 8 last week to no. 7 in this week’s poll. The Nittany Lions benefitted from an upset loss by Ole Miss, who fell from no. 5 down to no. 11 after losing at home to Kentucky. Other teams moving up a spot as Ole Miss stumbled included no. 6 Oregon, no. 8 Miami, no. 9 Missouri (up two spots), and no. 10 Michigan (up two spots).
There is also a new team sitting on top of the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Texas Longhorns have taken over the top spot following a comfortable home win against Mississippi State and Georgia’s comeback effort ultimately cracking at Alabama in wild fashion last night. Georgia fell four spots in the coaches poll from no. 1 down to no. 5. Texas received 29 first-place votes and Alabama, now ranked no. 2 after moving up two spots, received 19 first-place votes.
Ohio State remained at no. 3 amid the reshuffling of the top-ranked SEC programs around them, but the Buckeyes did receive the seven remaining first-place votes in this week’s poll.
Penn State handing Illinois its first loss did not drop the Illini out of the top 25 this week. Illinois rounded out this week’s top 25 with the no. 25 ranking. Indiana also jumps into the coaches poll this week with the no. 24 ranking with a 5-0 record. With Indiana moving in and Illinois hanging on to a top 25 ranking, the Big Ten has seven teams ranked in this week’s coaches poll (USC is no. 15).
Here is the full US LBM Coaches Poll following Week 5.
| Ranking | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas Longhorns | 5-0 | 1,339 (29) |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 4-0 | 1,330 (19) |
| 3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 4-0 | 1,281 (7) |
| 4 | Tennessee Vols | 4-0 | 1,163 |
| 5 | Georgia Bulldogs | 3-1 | 1,153 |
| 6 | Oregon Ducks | 4-0 | 1,090 |
| 7 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 4-0 | 1,062 |
| 8 | Miami Hurricanes | 5-0 | 981 |
| 9 | Missouri Tigers | 4-0 | 948 |
| 10 | Michigan Wolverines | 4-1 | 792 |
| 11 | Ole Miss Rebels | 4-1 | 743 |
| 12 | LSU Tigers | 4-1 | 725 |
| 13 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 4-1 | 702 |
| 14 | Clemson Tigers | 3-1 | 671 |
| 15 | USC Trojans | 3-1 | 660 |
| 16 | Iowa State Cyclones | 4-0 | 500 |
| 17 | Oklahoma Sooners | 4-1 | 470 |
| 18 | Utah Utes | 4-1 | 408 |
| 19 | BYU Cougars | 5-0 | 375 |
| 20 | Kansas State Wildcats | 4-1 | 242 |
| 21 | Texas A&M Aggies | 4-1 | 198 |
| 22 | Louisville Cardinals | 3-1 | 197 |
| 23 | UNLV Rebels | 4-0 | 180 |
| 24 | Indiana Hoosiers | 5-0 | 143 |
| 25 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 4-1 | 122 |
Penn State will be home next weekend to face UCLA. The Bruins are coming off a home loss to Oregon and have lost both of their first two Big Ten games at home this season. This will be UCLA’s first road game in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions will host the Bruins for a noon Eastern kickoff and will host Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.