Penn State makes playoff case in USA TODAY Sports re-rank
Things are hopping in Happy Valley with Penn State coming off a big win in Week 3 against Auburn. With a clean 3-0 record highlighted by two wins against top 25 teams, the Nittany Lions have quickly moved up the national polls and power rankings.
The USA TODAY Sports re-rank of all 130 FBS programs has been more optimistic about Penn State than other rankings since the preseason, so it may be little surprise to see the latest update to the re-rank has Penn State in quite a lofty position this week. The most recent update to the USA TODAY Sports re-rank from Paul Myerberg saw Penn State move up three spots up to No. 4 overall.
That’s right. Penn State would be a playoff team if determined by the USA TODAY Sports re-rank. Not many people may have seen that coming three weeks into the season before this year started.
Penn State moved ahead of Iowa and Oklahoma, with the Hawkeyes and Sooners each falling one spot to make room for Penn State ahead of them. Despite a loss to Alabama, Florida actually moved up four spots to No. 9. And Michigan moved up eight spots to round out the top 10. The Wolverines slipped ahead of their biggest rival, Ohio State, as the cherry on top of their latest move up the rankings.
Penn State has plenty of stiff challenges ahead, so time will tell if this high of a ranking is justified or a false glimmer of hope. Penn State will face Iowa in a few weeks. A road trip to Ohio State is never easy. Michigan (and Michigan State) are surging at the start of the season too. And it may be unwise to sleep on Indiana next week either.
But for now, things are good. Soak it up and embrace the moment.
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