Penn State started the season ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, and through three weeks, it hasnโt moved yet.
In the latest APย Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, Penn State is still No. 7 and still the third-highest-ranked Big Ten team behind Michigan and Ohio State.
Michigan (No. 2) and Ohio State (No. 6) also kept their ranking.
Penn Stateโs two biggest games are against Ohio State and Michigan. Coach James Franklinโs team will be in Columbus Oct. 21 to take on Ohio State and hosting Michigan at Beaver Stadium three weeks later. The Michigan game is slated to be Foxโs Big Noon Kickoff game of the week. No time or channel has been announced for the Ohio State game yet.
Penn Stateโs 30-13 win over Illinois Saturday wasnโt perfect, and coach James Franklinย knows that.
At the same time, Franklinโs always appreciated how difficult it is to win by any margin in college football.
โThat was a pretty Big Ten win on the road,โ Franklin told reporters in his postgame presser. โI appreciate winning. Itโs hard to do. You watch college football, each week, thereโs games where thereโs upsets, and games where you have to grind it out. So that was a big-time win for us on the road, especially when you kind of take all that factors that we look at into it.โ
Franklin also noted that, despite the offense receiving criticism for its play, Drew Allar and company not turning it over was a key point in the win.
โEverybodyโs going to talk about the five turnovers, and then deservedly so, they should be,โ Franklin said, โbut then the other thing is our offense not turning the ball over as well. You do those things, youโre going to win a lot of games. Those things obviously have a huge impact.โ
Penn Stateโs next Big Ten test is against Iowa Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The annual White Out game is scheduled for 7:30.
