Penn State Football has moved up in the rankings, following its 33-14 win over Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions are off to a 4-0 start, and will take on Northwestern at home next week.

Penn State Football will enter that matchup ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll, and No. 12 in the coaches.

After Northwestern, the Nittany Lions will have their bye week before traveling for a tough road matchup against Michigan, which could be a top-10 clash.

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Key Movements in the Poll

Biggest Risers:

BYU re-entered the poll this week going from unranked to No. 19. Texas A&M moved up six spots to No. 17 after their big win over Arkansas.

Future whiteout opponent, Minnesota, entered the poll for the first time this year at No. 21. Three teams moved up three spots this week including Tennessee (8), Penn State (11), and Washington (15).

Biggest Fallers:

Oklahoma was the biggest loser this week falling 12 spots to #18 after their home loss to Kansas State. Arkansas fell 10 spots to #20 after their loss to Texas A&M. Florida (20) and Texas (22) both fell out of the poll after losses.

What will it take for Penn State Football to move up in the poll?

The simple answer is to just win this week against the Wildcats.

There are multiple top-25 matchups in Week 5, and this will potentially open up some spots for the Nittany Lions to slip into the top 10.

If Penn State Football can get a big blowout win over Northwestern, it could sway the voters to push them over other teams who won.

Key Games to watch Week 3:

N. 7 Kentucky @ No. 14 Ole Miss 12:00pm/ESPN

This matchup is an intriguing contrast of styles and a former Penn State quarterback in Will Levis.

Nittany Lion fans will want to be rooting for Ole Miss to take care of business at home and open a spot for Penn State to move up.

No. 2 Alabama @ No. 20 Arkansas 3:30pm/CBS

The excitement for this game has certainly lost a little bit of its luster with Arkansas losing to Texas A&M this past week.

The Razorbacks do get this matchup at home which will help, but it is going to be a tall task to knock off the Crimson Tide. Alabama losing would certainly knock them out of the top 10.

No. 9 Oklahoma State @ No. 16 Baylor 3:30pm/FOX

This will be the Cowboys’ first real test of the season as they travel to take on a tough Baylor team. Spencer Sanders has an excellent start to the season for Oklahoma State, but this will be one of the tougher defenses he will face in the Big 12. Penn State fans should root for the Bears at home to pull the upset and open another top 10 spot.

No. 10 NC State vs No. 5 Clemson 7:30pm/ABC

This matchup was talked about all offseason as one of the games of the year in the ACC. Both teams come in with great defenses and the winner will be in the driver’s seat in the ACC.

Penn State Football should benefit from either of these teams losing, and should be rooting for a lopsided game, if anything.

 

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