Penn State in the Polls: Nittany Lions Inch Up in Coaches Poll

Penn State benefits from Notre Dame's loss in the Coaches Poll. The Lions stay put in the AP Top 25.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar rushes for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Bowling Green Falcons at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State didn't harm its poll value with a narrow victory over Bowling Green in Saturday's home opener. In fact, the Nittany Lions improved one spot in the Coaches Poll.

Penn State (2-0) moved up up to No. 7 in the College Football Coaches Poll after a 34-27 victory over Bowling Green. The Nittany Lions remained at No. 8 for the third consecutive week in the AP Top 25, getting passed by Missouri (No. 6) and Tennessee (No. 7).

The Nittany Lions benefitted in the Coaches Poll from Notre Dame's loss to Northern Illinois. The Fighting Irish fell 12 spots to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll after the home loss. Penn State coach James Franklin is a voter in the Coaches Poll.

Penn State report card: Bowling Green edition

Penn State labored to a seven-point victory over the Falcons, rebounding from a 10-point deficit in the first half. After falliing behind 17-7, Penn State outscored Bowling Green 27-10 the rest of the way. Penn State gave up 24 first-half points, more than they allowed in any 2023 regular-season game, but clamped down to permit just a field goal in the second half.

"You’ve got to give Bowling Green a ton of credit," Penn State coach James Franklin said after the game. "We talked about it during the week. In the last three years, they beat Minnesota, they beat Georgia Tech, [and the] Michigan [game] last year was 14-6 at the half. [Bowling Green has] 32 seniors, and you got to give them credit. They played their tail off. The moment wasn't too big for them. The opening drive showed that, and we were in a dogfight, so got to give them a ton of credit."

Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 220 of Penn State's 23 rushing yards, and Singleton scored two touchdowns. Tight end Tyler Warren set a school record for receiving yards by a tight end (146).

"Obviously, Ty Warren had a big game for us. Both running backs had big games for us," Franklin said. "And I thought in the second half, we were able to calm down and get ahead of the sticks on defense. That was the issue in the first half. We were giving up too much on first down, creating manageable third down situations for most of the first half, and that was problematic. So obviously we’ve got some work to do, but it's nice doing that work with a win. There's a ton of teams across the country that will be trying to make corrections after a loss, and we got to make a bunch of corrections after a win, and obviously we got some work to do."

Penn State has a bye this week before returning to Beaver Stadium to host Kent State on Sept. 21. The Nittany Lions open the Big Ten schedule Sept. 28 at home against Illinois, which upset then-No. 19 Kansas 23-17.

More Penn State Football

What the Nittany Lions learned about themselves, particularly on defense, against Bowling Green

Three takeaways from Penn State's precarious win over the Falcons

What they said after Penn State's win over Bowling Green

Penn State on SI 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 X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.