Nationally, skepticism is high about Penn State Football, as the 2022 season nears.

After two seasons filled with struggles that have resulted in an 11-11 record since 2020, the Nittany Lions were not included in the pre-season 2022 Coaches Poll released Monday.

The Nittany Lions finished just on the outside looking in in this year’s pre-season poll, along with Big Ten counterpart Iowa, as two of the biggest snubs in the nation. 

The coaches poll is not the official top 25 that will be used come opening day, that will be the AP poll which is voted on by the writers and media. However, it seems there could be a good chance Penn State Football will not be included there, either.

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This is the first time since before the 2016 season that James Franklin’s team has not been ranked in the preseason. That season of course, the Lions went on to win the Big Ten and head to the Rose Bowl.

It is not a surprise that nationally Penn State is lacking respect, as they lost key members such as Jahan Dotson, Jaquan Brisker, Arnold Ebiketie and more to the NFL. From the outside looking in, this looks like it could be a rebuilding year for Franklin and company.

The silver lining here for Penn State Football, is that they will have less of a target on their back as they hit the road for two big games in September, opening the season at Purdue and then traveling to Auburn in week three.

Last season, Michigan began the season unranked and went on to win the Big Ten and make their first ever college football playoff appearance, so history tells us this means next to nothing for the Lions or any other team not ranked in the preseason.

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