On Monday, August 11, 2024, the Associated Press released the AP Top 25 in College Football for the Preseason, which ranks how teams will fair out this season in College Football, some teams that were included in this ranking included Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, and Florida State in the top ten of these rankings. With these rankings out, I will go into detail about what I think of these rankings in particular with where Penn State was ranked at number eight on the list, why they were ranked there, and how this will impact their upcoming season.

 

Thoughts on Penn State, Being Ranked Number Eight for the Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Rankings for the 2024 College Football Season

 

 When looking at these rankings for the preseason for the 2024 College Football season, I believe that Penn State was ranked at a reasonable spot for the preseason. This is based upon many factors such as the strength of the schedule, where they finished last season, and their schedule for this season.

Firstly, I believe that their strength of schedule for the 2024 College Football season is a major factor for why they were ranked number eight in the AP top 25 rankings. Since based upon the opponents they are playing which has changed slightly in comparison to past seasons due to the College Football realignment with USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington joining the Big Ten which causes Penn State to not play Michigan this upcoming season it leads to a slightly harder strength of schedule for the Nittany Lions because of who they have to play this season which includes West Virginia, Illinois, UCLA, USC, Ohio State, and Washington just to name a few. For Penn State, these will be the games that will be a tough task for them out of these only four of them are at home which will be easier for Penn State to take on while the other two are away which is usually tough for them to win due to being on the road and not having a home crowd there.

Secondly, how Penn State finished last season is a factor as to why they were ranked number eight in the top 25. Last season, Penn State finished 10-3 and lost in their bowl game to Ole Miss. This factor of being third in the Big Ten (East division) behind both Michigan who went 15-0 and won a National Championship and was first in the Big Ten (East Division) and Ohio State who went 11-2 and was second in the Big Ten (East Division). Penn State lost to both of these teams last season which led to them being ranked number eight in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings for the preseason because of this reasoning of them losing to both Michigan and Ohio State last season.

Ultimately, because of all of these factors, I believe Penn State will have a challenging season ahead of them with having to play new in-conference opponents such as USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon which, only two of these teams that Penn State has to play this season were ranked in the top 25 with Oregon at number three and USC at 23 while still having to play Ohio State as usual who are ranked at number two in the top 25.

Having to play teams that were ranked so high in the top 25 might give Penn State a challenge to be so successful this season and make it to the College Football Playoffs with its new 12-team system.

Why Penn State Was Ranked Number Eight in the Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll for the 2024 College Football Season

Based upon many factors such as Strength of Schedule, coaching, where Penn State fell at the end of the 2023 season, their schedule for the 2024 season, and the expectations that are set forth on them, it leads to why the Associated Press ranked them at number eight out of the total 25 teams of the top 25 in College Football. Firstly, Penn State’s strength of schedule for the 2024 season is considered to be tough since they have to play several teams who were ranked in the top 25, their toughest game on their schedule will be Ohio State which is one team Penn State usually loses to, which Penn State hasn’t beaten Ohio State since the 2015-16 season which means it has been a while since this has occurred and will most likely not happen again this season due to the trajectory that Ohio State is on and being ranked number two in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason rankings. Secondly, Penn State’s coaching staff was also most likely a factor for why they were ranked at number eight. Their head coach for the program James Franklin, who has been with the Nittany Lions for ten years is partly the reason why Penn State was ranked at numbed eight since though he has a 6-6 record when it comes to Bowl games, three Big Ten losing seasons, five 10-win regular seasons and having an overall record of 112-54 overall as the head coach for Penn State. Most Penn State fans believe that Franklin needs to have a big year this season or he will most likely get fired due to how last season went with Penn State finishing third behind Michigan and Ohio State with a record of 10-3 as well as losing to Ole Miss 38-25 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. This leads to why Penn State was ranked #8 in the Associated Press preseason top 25 rankings.

Thirdly, the expectations that are set forth for Penn State to do well this season based upon who they are playing such as Ohio State, Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington is considered to be a tough task for them to do so and make it to College Football Playoffs since it is now a 12 team system instead of four which Penn State has never made to due to that system, which is why the expectations for them do to so well, this season is very high from a player/ coaching perspective but also from the fans and the media as well.

All of these factors that I mentioned are the reasons why I believe that the Associated Press ranked Penn State number eight in their preseason rankings.

How Being Ranked Number Eight In the Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Rankings, Will Impact, Penn State This Upcoming Season

Now that Penn State has been ranked in the top 10 by the Associated Press for the preseason for the 2024 College Football season, it will lead to Penn State having higher expectations on their shoulders as they go into the season to make sure they stay in that top ten spot throughout the season with tough opponents than last season since although they have six home games and five away games this season, which only one of those away games is against a team who is ranked in the top 25 rankings which is USC while the other four teams are unranked, but on the other hand while at home Penn State will only have to face one ranked team which is Ohio State and that will be their toughest task with their high expectations for this season since if they can beat Ohio State then, most Penn State fans will look at Penn State as a team who can make it to the College Football Playoffs and if they lose to Ohio State then Penn State will be deemed as a fluke. But if they do what they are supposed to do on both sides of the ball then Penn State could be a good team coming out of the Big Ten and finally go to a playoff game. Consequently, the fact that Penn State is ranked number eight in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 rankings will have a major impact on how the Nittany Lions do this upcoming season.