Where does Penn State rank after Week 1 in the Associated Press Poll?
Penn State started its 2024 season in style this past weekend, defeating West Virginia on the road 34-12. Not only did Penn State’s offense produce scoring drives on five of 10 drives before running out the clock, but Penn State’s defense also played better than last year against the Mountaineers despite losing multiple players to the NFL.
“One of the things I think was interesting is, if you do a statistical comparison between our West Virginia game last year and our West Virginia game this year, no one is really talking about our defense and our defense really played well,” said head coach James Franklin on Monday.
“If you look at last year, we gave up 15 points; this year, we gave up 12. So we were better in that. Better in points per possession. We were better in explosive plays. We were better in total yards allowed. We were better in rushing yards allowed. We were better in yards per carry. We were better in passing yards allowed, yards per attempt.”
That performance grabbed the attention of reporters across the nation, but with each of the schools ahead of Penn State also winning this past weekend, the Nittany Lions remain at No. 8 in the poll.
The Big Ten continues to have four schools within the Top 10. Ohio State remains at No. 2 nationally, while Oregon dropped four spots to No. 7 following a lackluster performance against Idaho. Michigan is just behind Penn State at No. 10.
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Following its win over LSU, USC moved up 10 spots to No. 13 nationally, while Iowa moved up four spots to No. 21.
Penn State fans can check out the updated Associated Press Poll below.
Updated Associated Press Poll – September 3
1) Georgia
2) Ohio State
3) Texas
4) Alabama
5) Notre Dame
6) Ole Miss
7) Oregon
8) Penn State
9) Missouri
10) Michigan
11) Utah
12) Miami
13) USC
Link: Penn State coach James Franklin previews Bowling Green
14) Tennessee
15) Oklahoma
16) Oklahoma State
17) Kansas State
18) LSU
19) Kansas
20) Arizona
21) Iowa
22) Louisville
23) Georgia Tech
24) N.C. State
25) Clemson
Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M 97, Boston College 49, Boise St. 47, Iowa St. 32, Memphis 27, Nebraska 27, SMU 23, Washington 20, Liberty 12, Vanderbilt 8, Wisconsin 8, Auburn 8, Tulane 4, North Carolina 4, UTSA 3, Appalachian St. 3, Kentucky 2, West Virginia 2, Arkansas 2, UNLV 1, Colorado 1.
