PSU Football is No. 7 in College Football Insider Brett McMurphy’s “ridiculously-way-too-early” top 25 rankings.
It's never too early for my @ActionNetwork Ridiculously-Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2023. Pac-12 leads way w/6 teams, then ACC (5), SEC (4), Big 12 (4), Big Ten (3), AAC (1), Sun Belt (1) & Notre Dame. I'm confident you will agree w/all 25 teams, so enjoy!https://t.co/g58acUXaIU pic.twitter.com/lpuh4xmfif
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 7, 2023
McMurphy, an insider for the Action Network, has Penn State just outside the top five but behind two Big Ten East schools.
McMurphy’s rankings have PSU football behind Michigan (No. 3) and Ohio State (No. 5).
Michigan and Ohio State made it to the college football playoff this past season, with both teams falling in heartbreaking fashion. Michigan lost to TCU 51-45 in an upset. Ohio State came within a Noah Ruggles field goal in the closing seconds of upsetting top-ranked Georgia but instead fell 42-41. Michigan and Ohio State were responsible for Penn State’s only losses of the 2022 season.
Michigan pounded Penn State 41-17 Oct. 15 in Ann Arbor. Penn State had a much better showing two weeks later against Ohio State in Beaver Stadium, but ended up falling 44-31. Although Penn State finished behind Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings, the team got a solid consolation prize by playing in the Rose Bowl.
Coach James Franklin’s squad took advantage of that opportunity and beat No. 8 Utah, 35-21.
After the win, Penn State is a lock to finish in the top 10 of the final polls and could crack the top five. Penn State returns plenty of talent for 2023, including stud running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and linebacker Abdul Carter. Next season is also expected to feature the start of Drew Allar’s run as QB1. Allar, a former five-star recruit from Medina, Ohio, backed up sixth-year senior Sean Clifford this past season.
There will be a lot of early polls from now until the official rankings come out in August. But it seems like a good bet that Penn State will be ranked highly to start 2023.
