Penn State Continues Its Climb in the Rankings

The Lions, who began the season unranked, reach the top 10 in the AP and Coaches polls.

Penn State climbed from unranked to the top 10 through college football's first five weeks. Now, the Lions will test that ranking against the heart of their 2022 schedule.

Penn State moved up one spot to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 and two spots to the same ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The rankings mark Penn State's first return to the top 10 since Week 7 of the 2021 season. The Lions were No. 7 in the AP Top 25 before their nine-overtime loss to Illinois last season.

Penn State reached 5-0 for the second consecutive season, and third time since 2019, with a 17-7 win over Northwestern on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The Lions overcame a sloppy passing day and five turnovers with a defense that allowed the Wildcats to gain just 8 total yards on their five possessions after Penn State turnovers.

"I think we have done what we needed to do up to this point," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "We're 5-0. ... Winning is hard. It is hard week-in and week-out. I put examples up every Sunday of games that people are looking on the ticker or watching the highlights, and they're shocked. We've done what we needed to do up to this point to be 5-0, but we have to get better."

The Lions also improved one spot to No. 12 in the ESPN College Football Power Index, which doesn't give them much of a chance to go undefeated. The odds of Penn State going 12-0 and winning a potential Big Ten title game are 0.9 percent, according to the FPI.

Penn State follows its bye week with games against No. 4 Michigan, Minnesota (which dropped from the Coaches Poll after a loss to Purdue). and No. 3 Ohio State in consecutive weeks.

Penn State is No. 9 in the Sports Illustrated Top 10.

Read More

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The Penn State-Northwestern report card

What we learned from Penn State's 17-7 win over Northwestern

Running back Devyn Ford no longer with the team

Sean Clifford has 'taken another step' this season, James Franklin says

Penn State is capitalizing on Chad Powers fever

James Franklin pitches new athlete dorms at Penn State

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.