Penn State would have preferred to be playing in the Big Ten championship game this weekend, but the Nittany Lions may be in a good spot having not played a down this weekend. With plenty of changes in the top eight this week, Penn State remained in the top 10 of the final AP Top 25 of the season before the bowl season.
Penn State is ranked no. 10 by the AP voters as we inch closer to the official bowl game announcements and the final College Football Playoff rankings of the season. Penn State was ranked no. 10 after their regular season concluded with a blowout win of Michigan State to finish off a 10-2 regular season.
Michigan took over the top spot in this week’s AP poll with 51 first-place votes after shutting out Iowa in the Big Ten championship game Saturday night, 26-0. Michigan’s rise to the top of the AP poll was aided by Georgia falling from no. 1 down to no. 6 after losing to no. 5 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.
If the AP poll is any sort of an indication of how the playoff will look, Michigan, no. 2 Washington, no. 3 Texas, and no. 4 Florida State are in the playoff spots. Ohio State dropped one spot amid the reshuffling of the top teams down to no. 7 despite not playing a game. No. 8 Oregon fell three spots after losing to Washington in the Pac-12 championship.
Missouri remained no. 9 and one spot ahead of Penn State this week.
The highest-ranked Group of 5 team in the AP poll is no. 17 SMU after winning the AAC. The Mustangs are one spot ahead of Conference USA champion Liberty. whichever of the two is ranked higher by the College Football Playoff selection committee will get a spot in the New Years Six. Liberty was ranked higher by the committee last week between the two.
Here is the full AP top 25.
- Michigan (51 first-place votes)
- Washington (11)
- Texas
- Florida State
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Missouri
- Penn State
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- LSU
- Arizona
- Notre Dame
- Louisville
- SMU
- Liberty
- North Carolina State
- Iowa
- Oregon State
- Oklahoma State
- Tulane
- James Madison
- Tennessee
Others receiving votes: Clemson 87, Troy 65, Utah 39, Kansas St. 38, Miami (Ohio) 31, Toledo 22, Kansas 8, Kentucky 4.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.