PollBehaviorAP Top 25 Voter Analytics
College FootballLoading Scores…All Games →
Published AP Ballots — 6 Verified Current-Season Polls

School Profile

Penn State · School Profile

Nittany Lions

School facts, program titles and available AP poll analysis

Overall Record3–22026 · Updated Oct 5Schedule & Results →

My Teams

Choose Your Teams

Pick up to three schools. Changes save as you go.

0 of 3 Selected3 spots open

Your picks will appear here.

Select a school to add it to My Teams.

Saved on this device. No account needed.

Saved on this device. No account needed.

Current Programs & Conferences

2026 FBS football and 2026–27 NCAA Division I basketball. Historical title affiliations appear with the sourced program history below.

ProgramCurrent AffiliationSources & References
Football · FBSBig Ten Conference
Sources & References

The Bigger Picture · Football

Where Penn State Finished

Final AP rankings after the postseason. Coverage: 1989 through 2025.

Meet the School ↓

Football · Conference Titles

4 Big Ten Championships

  • 1994
  • 2005*
  • 2008*
  • 2016

* Shared conference title

Explore Big Ten Conference →
Sources & References
Top 25 Finishes
22 / 37 seasons
Top 10 Finishes
12 / 37 seasons
Best Final Ranking
#2
Last Ranked Finish
#5 in 2024

Summary covers 1989 through 2025.

Season by Season

Showing 2016 to 2025 · 10 seasons

Higher bars mean a higher finish. NR = Not Ranked in the final Top 25, including teams receiving votes. Gold marks a school-recognized FBS / major-college national championship; an AP No. 1 finish alone is not treated as a championship.

View Every Final Ranking (1989–2025)
Penn State · Final AP Football Rankings
YearFinal AP ResultSource
2025Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2024#5Source ↗
2023#13Source ↗
2022#7Source ↗
2021Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2020Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2019#9Source ↗
2018#17Source ↗
2017#8Source ↗
2016#7Source ↗
2015Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2014Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2013Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2012Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2011Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2010Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2009#9Source ↗
2008#8Source ↗
2007Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2006#24Source ↗
2005#3Source ↗
2004Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2003Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2002#16Source ↗
2001Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2000Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1999#11Source ↗
1998#17Source ↗
1997#16Source ↗
1996#7Source ↗
1995#13Source ↗
1994#2Source ↗
1993#8Source ↗
1992Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1991#3Source ↗
1990#11Source ↗
1989#15Source ↗
Sources & References

Beyond the Ballot

Meet The Pennsylvania State University

Penn State was chartered in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania. Its University Park campus is home to the Nittany Lions and anchors the state's land-grant university.

Location
University Park, Pennsylvania
University Type
Public · Land-grant
Founded
1855
Undergraduate Enrollment
42,822Fall 2025 · Residential undergraduates at University Park
Nickname
Penn State Nittany Lions
Football Conference
Big Ten ConferenceReviewed affiliation · 2026
FBS / Major College Football National Championships
2School-Recognized Titles1982 · 1986
Football Big Ten Championships
41994 · 2005 · 2008 · 2016
Sources & References
Old Main at The Pennsylvania State University
Old Main · 2019. Display images resized and converted to WebP.Photo: JohnDziak / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Available AP Poll Analysis

These dated views describe specific poll editions and seasons; they are separate from school facts and championship history.

Football AP Poll Analysis

Existing Football ranking history and individual voter analysis.

SportFootball

2026 AP Football Poll

Penn State · Week 5

Ranked in 4 of 6 published polls this season. Season high: #13.

Latest poll:

Coverage: –

AP Result

NR

Still not ranked

Compared with Week 4

Voter Support

Of the 70 available ballots, 0 ranked Penn State and 70 left the team unranked.

Ranked Penn State
0
Left unranked
70
0 of 70 voters · 0%70 of 70 voters · 100%
Highest Vote
—

No ranked votes available

Lowest Ranked Vote
—

No ranked votes available

2026 Games & Scores

Full Schedule & Results →

Upcoming matchups and recent results, with game statistics and AP voter context.

Oct 106:30 PM CDT
#19 USC
Penn State
Latest AP RanksView Game →
Oct 17Time TBD
Penn State
Michigan
FootballView Game →
Oct 2Final
Penn State13
Northwestern34
FOXView Game →
Sep 26Final
Wisconsin24
#13 Penn State20
AP Ranks Before KickoffView Game →

2026 Season at a Glance

AP rank and voter agreement across available polls.

Poll
2026 · Preseason#1848294%65/69 Voters2.37
2026 · Week 1#1662199%68/69 Voters2.01
2026 · Week 2#1469299%67/68 Voters2.52
2026 · Week 3#13850100%69/69 Voters2.05
2026 · Week 4NR9844%31/70 Voters1.85
2026 · Week 5NR00%0/70 Voters—

A Look at the Individual Votes

Week 5 · First 10 of 70 voters, sorted by highest vote. Open the weekly view for the complete list.

VoterVote
Creg StephensonNRBoth Unranked
Jerry HumphreyNRBoth Unranked
Cameron CoxNRBoth Unranked
Tom MurphyNRBoth Unranked
Haley SawyerNRBoth Unranked
Jon WilnerNRBoth Unranked
Kirk KenneyNRBoth Unranked
Brian HowellNRBoth Unranked
Joe ArrudaNRBoth Unranked
Jamal St. CyrNRBoth Unranked

View All 70 Voters for Week 5 →

Ballot Distribution

Every complete ballot for Penn State.

Penn State—

0% · 0 of 70 Voters
Average When Ranked: — · 70 Unranked

Ranked High — · Low —70 / 70 Ballots
View Exact Distribution
Penn State votes by rank, including zero counts
RankVoters
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
250
NR70