Penn State ranked No. 18 in preseason AP Top 25

[RyanSnyder]

Where does Penn State rank in the preseason AP Top 25?

Penn State football is once again ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. See where the Nittany Lions will begin this upcoming season!

www.on3.com

 

[RyanSnyder]

2026 Preseason AP Top 25​

1) Ohio State
2) Oregon
3) Georgia
4) Notre Dame
5) Texas
6) Indiana
7) Miami
8) Texas A&M
9) Ole Miss
10) Oklahoma
11) LSU
12) Texas Tech
13) Alabama
T-14) BYU
T-14) USC
16) Michigan
17) Washington
18) Penn State
19) SMU
20) Tennessee
21) Utah
22) Iowa
23) Houston
24) Louisville
25) Missouri

Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1

 

[BobPSU92]

I’ll post it. vo tech not ranked.

 

[psuro]

PSU = over rated.
Campy on the hot seat.

 

[PSUForever]

I’ll post it. vo tech not ranked.

Stop!

 

[SleepyLion]

On the up side. We only have to fall 8 spots to be irrelevant.

 

[PSUForever]

We really caught a break with no IU, OSU or Oregon on the schedule. USC, UDub and Meatcheatagain are all ranked close to us. Those games are all winnable but we won't win them all but they will be competitive games. I think we lose both road games to Meatcheatagain and UDub but beat the Trojans which I hope is the WO game.

That leaves needing to run the table with the rest of the schedule to make the playoff. Probably a 60-70% chance to do that. Concerned about Wisky at home in the B10 opener and then the Cats on that Friday night in Evanston to open their new stadium. Either game could trip us up.

 

[IoffendwithTruth1]

We really caught a break with no IU, OSU or Oregon on the schedule. USC, UDub and Meatcheatagain are all ranked close to us. Those games are all winnable but we won't win them all but they will be competitive games. I think we lose both road games to Meatcheatagain and UDub but beat the Trojans which I hope is the WO game.

That leaves needing to run the table with the rest of the schedule to make the playoff. Probably a 60-70% chance to do that. Concerned about Wisky at home in the B10 opener and then the Cats on that Friday night in Evanston to open their new stadium. Either game could trip us up.

I am glad you said about NW on the road, on a friday to open their new statium. I am unsure as to why this game has not been talked about enough. I beleive this game will be significantly tougher than Wisky at home. I am not saying Wiscky will not be good or that we will steam roll them, im saying that the NW game has more renderings of a trap than Wisky. I will also add that Minny is usually sneaky tough as well. Glad we play at home for that game.

 

[LMTLION]

Interesting….

 

[Midnighter]

Interesting….

Clowns.

 

[Nitt1300]

Will someone explain how a group that went 8-4 and finished 7th in the miserable Big 12 deserves a top 20 rating after a name change?

I don't see it.

 

[Marshall2323]

Will someone explain how a group that went 8-4 and finished 7th in the miserable Big 12 deserves a top 20 rating after a name change?

I don't see it.

Still #7 in the Big Ten. Excellence at the highest level?

 

[Marshall2323]

PSU = over rated.
Campy on the hot seat.

We deserve better

 

[psuro]

We deserve better

 

[Catch1lion]

I’ll post it. vo tech not ranked.

You can't hate on them enough. Hopefully we start making the right lists......

 

[Ludd]

I’ll post it. vo tech not ranked.

Isn’t everyone on here going to **** themselves if VT moves up higher than PSU?

 

[Catch1lion]

 

[Marshall2323]

Isn’t everyone on here going to **** themselves if VT moves up higher than PSU?

I think they have a more difficult conference schedule. All things considered.

Don't ever forget...the standard is the standard.

 

[Nitt1300]

I think they have a more difficult conference schedule. All things considered.

Don't ever forget...the standard is the standard.

12-0

 

[Marshall2323]

12-0

Why stop there. No big games on the schedule. Make a run.

 

[BobPSU92]

Why stop there. No big games on the schedule. Make a run.

Lots of teams get the runs. Why not us?

 

[SleepyLion]

Isn’t everyone on here going to **** themselves if VT moves up higher than PSU?

Why wait until that happens?

 

[PSUForever]

Will someone explain how a group that went 8-4 and finished 7th in the miserable Big 12 deserves a top 20 rating after a name change?

I don't see it.

Maybe because your first paragraph is false.

 

[Nitt1300]

Maybe because your first paragraph is false.

I didn't write a paragraph; I wrote a sentence. And no part of it was false.

 

[UncleRoyBiggins]

Obviously, we didn't win the off season.

 

[BBHorn86]

I am glad you said about NW on the road, on a friday to open their new statium. I am unsure as to why this game has not been talked about enough. I beleive this game will be significantly tougher than Wisky at home. I am not saying Wiscky will not be good or that we will steam roll them, im saying that the NW game has more renderings of a trap than Wisky. I will also add that Minny is usually sneaky tough as well. Glad we play at home for that game.

I have the NW game as a loss. The Cats will be sky high and know they can hang with us.

 

[slwlion]

2026 Preseason AP Top 25​

1) Ohio State
2) Oregon
3) Georgia
4) Notre Dame
5) Texas
6) Indiana
7) Miami
8) Texas A&M
9) Ole Miss
10) Oklahoma
11) LSU
12) Texas Tech
13) Alabama
T-14) BYU
T-14) USC
16) Michigan
17) Washington
18) Penn State
19) SMU
20) Tennessee
21) Utah
22) Iowa
23) Houston
24) Louisville
25) Missouri

Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1

Who cares, 30 some games undefeated and could not get ranked #1. The sorrow of old age. lol

 

[Marshall2323]

Obviously, we didn't win the off season.

To hell you say. We are undefeated, have "fixed " the culture, appeased the Lettermen and are aiming to produce not one but two, 1k receivers. All accomplished with shorter, more upbeat practices. Life is good in Happy Valley. Too bad the season must start.

 

[PSUForever]

I didn't write a paragraph; I wrote a sentence. And no part of it was false.

Gotcha.

 

[Alphalion75]

I'm really anxious to see this new offense with Becht and People's in the backfield.

 

[Psumatt85]

Where does Penn State rank in the preseason AP Top 25?

Penn State football is once again ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. See where the Nittany Lions will begin this upcoming season!

www.on3.com

Can we still pick up some free agents to improve our ranking?

 

[IoffendwithTruth1]

I have the NW game as a loss. The Cats will be sky high and know they can hang with us.

I am not marking it as a loss. I believe we escape this game in a dog fight type win. I can see this being the game that sets the tone for the remainder of the season.

 

[Midnighter]

I have the NW game as a loss. The Cats will be sky high and know they can hang with us.

Zero chance we lose to them. Mark it down! (RIP Glov!).

 

[bdgan]

2026 Preseason AP Top 25​

1) Ohio State
2) Oregon
3) Georgia
4) Notre Dame
5) Texas
6) Indiana
7) Miami
8) Texas A&M
9) Ole Miss
10) Oklahoma
11) LSU
12) Texas Tech
13) Alabama
T-14) BYU
T-14) USC
16) Michigan
17) Washington
18) Penn State
19) SMU
20) Tennessee
21) Utah
22) Iowa
23) Houston
24) Louisville
25) Missouri

Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1

18th sounds about right for a 9-3 team. Hopefully we do better than that.

7th in the BiG really hurts. We probably need to be 4th to make the playoffs.

 

[bdgan]

Will someone explain how a group that went 8-4 and finished 7th in the miserable Big 12 deserves a top 20 rating after a name change?

I don't see it.

A lot is riding on Becht to get back to form. I understand that he played hurt but it was his no throwing arm.

2023: 3,120 pass yds
2024: 3,505 pass yds
2025: 2,584 pass yds

3,500 yds would probably translate to a 9-3 record. He's throwing to the same WRs (Sowell, and TE (Brahmer) as last year.

 

[PSUForever]

I am glad you said about NW on the road, on a friday to open their new statium. I am unsure as to why this game has not been talked about enough. I beleive this game will be significantly tougher than Wisky at home. I am not saying Wiscky will not be good or that we will steam roll them, im saying that the NW game has more renderings of a trap than Wisky. I will also add that Minny is usually sneaky tough as well. Glad we play at home for that game.

We will know more about this game once we get the season started and see how we look and how NW looks.

This is our first road game and you know NW will be jacked up and would love to open their new stadium style with a big win over Penn State.

We have the talent advantage but that may not be enough. A great early season test.

 

[BBHorn86]

I am not marking it as a loss. I believe we escape this game in a dog fight type win. I can see this being the game that sets the tone for the remainder of the season.

I am not marking it as a loss. I believe we escape this game in a dog fight type win. I can see this being the game that sets the tone for the remainder of the season.

Definitely a pivotal game... in either direction!