The last time Penn State started a college football season ranked outside of the preseason Associated Press top 25, the Nittany Lions went out and won the Big Ten championship. After the release of this season’s preseason AP Top 25 on Monday, James Franklin and his program are hoping to repeat some history in 2022.
Penn State was not ranked in the preseason AP Top 25, which was unveiled Monday afternoon. Following a 7-6 season in 2021 that saw Penn State finish the season outside the top 25, it is clear the voters are not willing to give Penn State the benefit of the doubt after a second straight season finishing outside the final AP Top 25. Respect will once again have to be earned by the Nittany Lions to win back the voters.
Penn State appears as the fourth team in the “Others receiving votes” category.
Alabama will start the season as the nation’s No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, just as they will in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll (Penn State is unranked in the preseason coaches poll as well). The Crimson Tide received 54 out of 63 first-place votes in their favor. No. 2 Ohio State received six first-place votes and defending national champion Georgia comes in at No. 3 with three first-place votes to their name. Clemson and Notre Dame fill out the top five in that order.
Other Big Ten teams appearing in the preseason AP Top 25 include No. 8 Michigan, No. 15 Michigan State, and No. 18 Wisconsin. Iowa comes in just ahead of Penn State in others receiving votes.
Here is the full AP preseason top 25 poll for the 2022 season, with first-place votes noted where applicable;
- Alabama (54 first-place votes)
- Ohio State (6)
- Georgia (3)
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
- Texas A&M
- Utah
- Michigan
- Oklahoma
- Baylor
- Oregon
- Oklahoma State
- North Carolina State
- USC
- Michigan State
- Miami
- Pittsburgh
- Wisconsin
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Wake Forest
- Cincinnati
- Houston
- BYU
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