While it may be difficult to envision Penn State leaping ahead of Notre Dame in the coaches poll, it may be more likely to go down in the AP poll. Notre Dame started the weekend ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, a solid six spots ahead of the Nittany Lions. The Fighting Irish are only three spots ahead of Penn State in the AP Top 25. But after narrowly escaping an upset bid at home by Toledo and seeing Week 1 opponent get stunned at home by FCS Jacksonville State, it may be fair to suggest Notre Dame’s ranking is not warranted.
This is not at all to say Notre Dame is or will be a bad team this year. But the evidence is not currently there to justify a top 10 ranking compared to other developments early on across the country through the first two full weekends of college football. Penn State has a top 25 win and covered a more than three-touchdown spread against the defending MAC champions while the Irish had to benefit from a complete meltdown in the final 90 seconds by Toledo to wiggle its way to a 2-0 record six days after an overtime victory at Florida State.
It probably won’t happen, but the case can be made for Penn State moving ahead of Notre Dame. Texas A&M had a shaky outing with a quarterback injury at Colorado, but the No. 5 Aggies should stay comfortable ahead of Penn State no matter how the polls are altered this week.
Penn State could be a top 10 team in both polls heading into Week 3, but Oregon’s upset at Ohio State threw a bit of a curveball at that outlook. Now it is up to the voters.
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