Danny Kanell makes plea to AP voters to leave Penn State, Texas unranked after Week 6 losses

Week 6 was a difficult one for a pair of teams that entered the regular season with national championship aspirations. Both Penn State and Texas went on the road and lost conference games in which they were heavy favorites to fall to 3-2. Now, they’re waiting to see where they fall in the AP poll.

One analyst who doesn’t want to see them ranked at all is Danny Kanell. The former Florida State quarterback took to social media. There, he advocated for AP voters to leave both Penn State and Texas out of their Top 25 rankings entirely.

“Today’s AP Top 25 will truly be a football IQ test,” Kanell wrote. “If any voter still has Texas or Penn State still ranked with ZERO wins over a Power 4 team that voter should lose their vote. Reminder there is a clear instruction to not go by ‘preseason speculation.'”

Today’s AP Top 25 will truly be a football IQ test. If any voter still has Texas or Penn State still ranked with ZERO wins over a Power 4 team that voter should lose their vote.

Reminder there is a clear instruction to not go by “preseason speculation” pic.twitter.com/mcdZGWyoDC

— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) October 5, 2025

Kanell also cited an AP poll voting guideline in his post. That’s a guideline for voting, and not a rule, but it’s one he wanted to make sure was clearly stated ahead of the next Top 25 Poll’s release on Sunday afternoon.

“The AP encourages voters to base their votes on ‘performance, not program reputation or preseason speculation,’ according to the independent news organization. Voters are also asked to avoid regional biases and consider head-to-head results. Teams on NCAA probation are eligible to receive votes for the AP poll.”

It seems that Kanell highlighted that guideline, in particular, due to his criticism of Penn State and Texas. The two programs do share some similarities in that regard. Both entered the 2025 season as popular national championship picks. Certainly, both had massive preseason expectations, as the Longhorns were the preseason AP No. 1 team while the Nittany Lions were the No. 2 team. That’s the “preseason speculation” being referenced.

Both teams suffered a loss to another team ranked highly by the AP. They also added three wins against Group of Five or FCS programs, none of which have been ranked this season. Then, they added a road loss in conference play in a game they were favored to win. So, without any Power Four wins or ranked wins, both teams arguably haven’t earned an AP ranking. Certainly, Danny Kanell doesn’t think they’ve earned that ranking.

Last week, Penn State was ranked No. 7 while Texas was ranked No. 9. It’s pretty rare to see a team completely fall from the rankings after being that high. However, stranger things have happened and different voters are going to have different approaches.