Here’s where Penn State football sits in the AP top 25 after blowout win over Kent State

There will be a top-20 matchup this week in Beaver Stadium when Penn State faces Illinois.

Penn State moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top-25 poll after the Saturday’s blowout win over Kent State. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 9 in the latest poll, which was released Sunday afternoon and saw no movement in the top four: Texas is No. 1, followed by Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama.

Illinois is ranked No. 19, a five-spot jump from last week after upsetting Nebraska in overtime. The 4-0 Fighting Illini will be the Nittany Lions’ first ranked opponent and first conference game. It’s set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Beaver Stadium, where coach James Franklin is calling for “White Out energy.”

There are six total Big Ten teams in the top 25. Ohio State is ranked highest at No. 3, followed by Oregon (No. 8), Penn State, Michigan (No. 12), USC (No. 13) and Illinois. Indiana, Nebraska and Iowa also received votes in the poll.

Penn State had 1,051 voting points — just one more than last week — and 22 fewer points than Oregon and 14 more points than No. 10 Utah.

The full AP rankings are below.

AP Top 25

(Sept. 22, 2024)

1. Texas (44 first-place votes) 1,527

2. Georgia (13 first-place votes) 1,482

3. Ohio State (5 first-place votes) 1,432

4. Alabama 1,358 1,328

5. Tennessee 1,283

6. Ole Miss 1,269

7. Miami 1,139

8. Oregon 1,073

9. Penn State 1,051

10. Utah 1,037

11. Missouri 1,009

12. Michigan 805

13. USC 690

14. LSU 637

15. Louisville 553

16. Notre Dame 546

17. Clemson 540

18. Iowa State 530

19. Illinois 458

20. Oklahoma State 388

21. Oklahoma 375

22. BYU 327

23. Kansas State 168

24. Texas A&M 77

25. Boise State 69

Others receiving votes: Washington St. 67, Indiana 63, Boston College 55, UNLV 53, Pittsburgh 37, Nebraska 25, Iowa 24, James Madison 11, South Carolina 7, Liberty 4, Arkansas 3, UCF 3, Arizona 2, SMU 2, Navy 1