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Penn State

Penn State checks in at No. 7 in updated AP Poll

nate-mug-10.12.14by: Nate Bauer09/28/25NateBauerBWI
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Oregon running back Dierre Hill Jr. breaks free as the Oregon Ducks face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 27, 2025, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. © Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The votes have been tallied following Penn State’s latest loss against one of the nation’s best teams. This time, a double-overtime, 30-24 decision to the No. 6-ranked Ducks, the Nittany Lions suffered their first setback of the 2025 season with a requisite drop in the polls on the back side.

Checking in earlier Sunday at No. 7 in the Coaches Poll, the Nittany Lions now stand the same in the updated AP Poll.

Coming out of the loss, Penn State head coach James Franklin indicated much work remains if the program intends to keep its lofty status moving forward.

“We battled, we were resilient, and we had a chance to win the game at the end. I’m proud of the guys in the locker room. Obviously disappointed and not satisfied one bit, but I’m proud of the way our guys battled and gave ourselves a chance to win the game at the end,” he said. “We’re going to watch this tape. I think we’re going to feel like we had tons of opportunities to win this game. There’s going to be a lot to learn from it, obviously.

“The way college football is today, there’s going to be very few teams that finish the end of the season unscathed. We’ve got to learn from this, we need to have a great week next week, we’ve got to tune out all the noise, and we’ve got to get better from this and get on a roll for the rest of the season.”

What’s next for Penn State

The schedule allows for some immediate relief. Up next, the Nittany Lions will travel to Los Angeles to take on an 0-4 UCLA team at the Rose Bowl next Saturday afternoon. And, returning to Beaver Stadium for homecoming on Oct. 11, Penn State will get a Northwestern team (2-2) also not ranked this week before traveling to Iowa (3-2) before the next bye week on the schedule.

Then, the task gets considerably more difficult.

Penn State will travel to Columbus to take on an Ohio State team now ranked No. 1 overall in the AP Poll, then follow the performance with an Indiana program that’s unbeaten and rolling, ranked No. 9 in the latest offering.

Partially contributing to Penn State’s still-high ranking, the Nittany Lions were not alone in suffering setbacks among the top 10 this week. Georgia dropped a 24-21 decision to Alabama and LSU lost 24-19 to Ole Miss.

Fans can check out the complete poll below.

AP Poll (Sept. 28)

1) Ohio State
2) Oregon
3) Miami
4) Ole Miss
5) Oklahoma
6) Texas A&M
7) Penn State
8) Indiana
9) Texas
10) Alabama
11) Texas Tech
12) Georgia

ESPN FPI Update: Penn State tumbles after Oregon loss

13) LSU
14) Iowa State
15) Tennessee
16) Vanderbilt
17) Georgia Tech
18) Florida State
19) Missouri
20) Michigan
21) Notre Dame
22) Illinois
23) BYU
24) Virginia
25) Arizona State

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