BREAKING: Penn State football earns No. 2 ranking in preseason AP Poll

Penn State football has not been a preseason top-five team since 1999. That 26-year streak ended on Monday after the Nittany Lions earned the No. 2 ranking in the first AP Poll for the 2025 season.

The Nittany Lions earned 23 votes for the No. 1 ranking, only one of six teams to earn first-place consideration. Texas, which claimed the top spot, received 25 first-place votes. Ohio State received 11. Both the Longhorns and Buckeyes were placed above Penn State in last week’s Coaches Poll.

The No. 2 ranking is the Blue and White’s highest since 1997, when the program started the year at No. 1. Penn State finished that season 9-3.

With expectations in Happy Valley reaching a fever-pitch, James Franklin’s squad is hoping to not repeat that history this fall.

“No one cares about preseason rankings,” Franklin said earlier this month. “Like, I’m not going to frame the preseason rankings and put it in my basement, in the man cave. No, no one cares. No, no one cares. So all that’s wonderful.

“We want to spend our time working on the things that are going to allow us to do things that we want to do this year, starting with Nevada, and creating the habits and behaviors that will get us there, not talking about not spending a ton of time talking about their goals and those types of things. There’s a place for it, but we’re focused on what we have to do to have the type of season that we want to have.”

Full AP Poll preseason rankings

1. Texas
2. Penn State
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Georgia
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Florida
16. SMU
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma
19. Texas A&M
20. Indiana
21. Ole Miss
22. Iowa State
23. Texas Tech
24. Tennessee
25. Boise State

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