For the fifth consecutive season, Penn State will begin its season ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. The Nittany Lions make their 2021 debut in the AP Top 25 with the No. 19 ranking in the preseason poll released on Monday afternoon.
Penn State is ranked one spot higher in the preseason AP Top 25 than they were in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. This cements the image Penn State will face in 2021 as a team that has something to prove as it attempts to ascend back to a top 10 ranking and into the College Football Playoff discussion.
The Nittany Lions will certainly have to earn their way up the ranks in the eyes of the AP voters. Penn State will take on a schedule that includes four teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25, as well as three more who debut in the “others receiving votes” category (Auburn, Michigan, Ball State).
Penn State’s No. 19 ranking is its lowest in the preseason AP Top 25 since starting the 2016 season outside the top 25. Penn State started the 2017 season at No. 6 following a Big Ten championship season, No. 10 to start the 2018 season, No. 15 at the start of the 2019 season, and No. 7 in the initial AP Top 25 for the 2020 season.
Penn State is one of five Big Ten teams to appear in the preseason AP Top 25, similar to the previous release of the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll last week. The rankings between the two polls are similar, although not mirror images. Ohio State is ranked No. 4, Indiana is No. 17, and Iowa is No. 18 in both the preseason AP and coaches polls.
Wisconsin is ranked No. 12 in the AP preseason top 25, which is three spots higher than the Badgers were ranked by the coaches.