Penn State moves up in ESPN's power rankings, Playoff predictions following 5-0 start: Newsstand
Penn State is moving up in the media polls and College Football Playoff projections after beating UCLA 27-11 last Saturday. Tuesday’s newsstand covers that, headlines of the day, and more. Let’s review today’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
ESPN has Penn State up to No. 4 in its latest set of power rankings from its team of reporters. That mirrors where the Lions are in the Associated Press top 25. The USA Today Coaches Poll has head coach James Franklin’s team at No. 5. Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings have PSU at No. 6. And, ESPN’s Football Power Index puts them at No. 9.
In other news, ESPN’s coverage team also put out their latest College Football Playoff projections. Heather Dinich has the Lions at No. 6, which sets up a home first round matchup with No. 11 BYU. For On3, Andy Staples also has Penn State at No. 6, but he has them facing No. 11 Texas A&M.
“Penn State is about to enter its season-defining stretch, with back-to-back road trips to USC and Wisconsin, followed by a home game against Ohio State,” Dinich writes. “The selection committee will likely want to see Penn State go 2-1 at worst over that span. If the Nittany Lions lose to USC and Ohio State, it’s going to be much harder for the committee to justify Penn State in an at-large bid if its best wins are against Illinois and West Virginia. The 12-team format is more forgiving, but the committee members still want to see statement wins on contenders’ résumés.”
Writes Staples for On3:
“The Nittany Lions needed most of the first half to get going against UCLA. Next week, they’ll face a desperate USC team that needs a win to stay in CFP contention. We’ll see if Penn State has a killer instinct or not.”
Top 10
- 1New
Georgia arrest
Bulldogs WR Colbie Young arrested on assault charges
- 2Trending
Alabama DL shuts it down
Jehiem Oatis to redshirt, plans to portal
- 3
True Freshman All-Americans
Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams headline On3's Midseason True Freshman All-American Team
- 4Hot
Malachi Moore apology
Alabama DB apologizes for actions vs. Vanderbilt
- 5
Clark Lea responds to Nick Saban
'It does piss me off'
Headlines of the day
Penn State’s James Franklin on Zakee Wheatley’s growth: ‘Zakee continues to play faster’: Flounders, PennLive
Penn State builds identity of physicality, nurses injuries, more: James Franklin notebook: Bauer, BWI
How Do James Franklin’s Penn State Teams Do in Big Road Games?: Poorman, Statecollege.com
Which recruits were at Penn State for its win over UCLA on Saturday?: Snyder, BWI
Penn State QB Drew Allar says offense needs to ‘start faster’: Alenstein, Daily Collegian
What we learned, didn’t learn, during Penn State coach James Franklin’s Monday news conference: Pickel, BWI
Judge preliminarily approves House v. NCAA settlement: Nakos, On3
Trimmings: Where Penn State stands with its weekend flip target visitors: Fitz, BWI
Quote of the day
“I think I’ve mentioned to you guys in here that I think we’ve had more season-ending injuries this year than in years past. Obviously that’s not ideal, and that’s where the development of the other guys in the depth is always important, but even more important this year.
“A lot of those have been noncontact, just ones that guys just running without a hit or rolled up on. Just happened. So we spent some time kind of looking at that as a staff and studying that to make sure that we weren’t missing anything.
“Yeah, obviously you would prefer to be as healthy as you could be. I wouldn’t say we’re that. As you guys know, I don’t talk a whole lot about injuries on the front end, so it’s hard to use them on the back end. Next-man-up mentality and keep plugging along and finding ways to develop and create depth.”
–PSU coach James Franklin.
