Big Ten

Where Does Penn State Rank in Big Ten Media Poll?

Published

8 minutes ago

Head Coach Matt Campbell.

The 2026 Big Ten Football Media Poll is in to coincide with Big Ten Media Days, and Penn State is in a modest position.

The media poll, conducted by Cleveland.com, has PSU at sixth, behind first-place Ohio State, Oregon, defending national champion Indiana, USC and Michigan.

None of the top three teams are on Penn State’s schedule, which is a big reason why some feel that PSU could surprise some people in coach Matt Campbell’s first season.

How much success Campbell has in Year 1 depends on what happens when Penn State plays USC and Michigan. The USC game, thought to be Penn State’s first big test, is scheduled for Oct. 10 at Beaver Stadium. The next week, Penn State goes to “The Big House” to take on Michigan. Like PSU, Michigan is under a new regime led by head coach Kyle Whittingham, who comes over after 21 seasons at Utah.

Penn State got 380 total points, putting it narrowly ahead of Washington (366) and Iowa (361). PSU doesn’t play Iowa this year, but has a big game against Washington in Seattle Nov. 7 that could have College Football Playoff implications.

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Overall, this is understandably a much different projection than PSU had going into 2025.

Last year, PSU returned many key players from a team that came within a drive of playing for the national championship, and thus was pegged by many as a national title favorite. Despite this, last year’s poll had Penn State at third behind Oregon and Ohio State. Penn State ended up finishing tied for 12th.

Here’s the full media poll. Teams on Penn State’s schedule will be in bold.