The final AP poll ranking for Penn State of the 2023 regular season is in, and coach James Franklin’s team finished No. 13.
Had Penn State gotten the job done in its Peach Bowl game against Ole Miss on the second-to-last day of 2023, it would have finished in the top 10.
Instead, Penn State lost 38-25 and has to settle for the No. 13 ranking
This is the sixth time in James Franklin’s 10 seasons in charge that Penn State’s finished in the top 25.
The program has finished in the top 20 on all six of those occasions, the two most recent ones being in the past two seasons. Last season, Penn State ended the year in grand fashion at the “Grandaddy of Them All,” beating Utah in the Rose Bowl. As a result, Penn State finished No. 7. It also helped that, for that game, Penn State was playing with its A-squad, for the most part. Joey Porter Jr. was the only player to opt out. For the Peach Bowl, four starters— starting CBs Kalen King and Johnny Dixon, DE Chop Robinson and OT Olu Fashanu— opted out of the game, and several other players with NFL Draft aspirations, mainly on Penn State’s defense, played the game on a snap count.
As one could imagine, national champion Michigan finished No. 1 in the AP Poll, sealing the deal with its 34-13 win over Washington in Monday night’s title game. The team that beat Penn State to end the year, Ole Miss, finished 2023 ranked No. 9.
Penn State has a lot to work on between now and the start of the 2024 season. Many fans won’t be satisfied with No. 13.
