Penn State holds firm at No. 2 nationally in updated Associated Press Poll

Penn State kicked off its 2025 campaign with a 46-11 win over Nevada Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. Coming into the season, James Franklin’s program was ranked No. 2 in the preseason Associated Press Poll. However, previous No. 3 Ohio State’s win over Texas was enough for the Buckeyes to jump Penn State to become the new top-ranked team in the country.

The rest of the Big Ten also had solid showings. On Friday night, Illinois beat up Western Illinois, 52-3. That was followed by a 59-13 win for Oregon over Montana State, a 34-17 win for Michigan over New Mexico and a 27-14 win for Indiana over Old Dominion.

In addition to Texas, three other programs that previously ranked among the top 10 – Clemson, Notre Dame and Alabama – also lost this past weekend. Clemson and Notre Dame had modest drops but both still rank among the top 10. However, Alabama dropped all the way to No. 20 in the updated poll.

Boise State, which was previously ranked No. 25 in the poll, also lost to USF on Thursday evening, dropping the Broncos out of the poll altogether. Kansas State also dropped out of a previous ranking of No. 20 following a Week 0 loss to Iowa State and a close 38-35 win over North Dakota this past weekend.

There are a handful of intriguing games that include Big Ten programs this upcoming weekend, most notably Michigan’s trip to Oklahoma. The Wolverines are now ranked 15th in the AP Poll, but No. 18 Oklahoma is favored by 5.5 points at BetMGM. No. 7 Oregon is a 28.5-point favorite against Oklahoma State at home, while No. 11 Illinois is currently a 2.5-point favorite against Duke.

Fans can check out the complete poll below.

Associated Press Poll (Sept. 2)

1) Ohio State
2) Penn State
3) LSU
4) Georgia
5) Miami
6) Oregon
7) Texas
8) Clemson
9) Notre Dame
10) South Carolina
11) Illinois
12) Arizona State

Postseason projections: Where did Penn State land in updated CFP brackets?

13) Florida
14) Florida State
15) Michigan
16) Iowa State
17) SMU
18) Oklahoma
19) Texas A&M
20) Ole Miss
21) Alabama
22) Tennessee
23) Indiana
24) Texas Tech
25) Utah

Others Receiving Votes: BYU 102, Auburn 94, Georgia Tech 67, Southern Cal 64, Louisville 59, TCU 49, Missouri 42, South Florida 25, Tulane 18, Nebraska 13, Kansas St. 7, James Madison 4, Liberty 4, UNLV 4, Duke 4, Navy 2, Pittsburgh 2, Baylor 2, Virginia 2, Memphis 2.