Penn State Football snubbed in AP preseason poll

The preseason AP Poll was released Monday afternoon and it’s now official; Penn State Football is unranked to start the season for the first time since 2016.

The Nittany Lions did receive votes to be ranked, along with the likes of Tennessee, Iowa and Texas who also came in just short of the top 25.

It comes as to no surprise as Penn State Football was also unranked in the preseason coaches poll that was released last week.

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Dos entering the season unranked matter for Penn State Football?

Ironically, this is the first time since before the start of the 2016 season that Penn State Football was left out of the preseason polls.

Of course, that season the Lions went on to win the Big Ten and head to the Rose Bowl, finishing 5th in the CFP committees final rankings, one spot out of the playoffs behind the University of Washington.

The AP poll has lost almost any relevance it once had now that the playoffs are a thing, once the committee releases its top 25 the first week of November, the AP poll becomes totally secondary and the CFP rankings are the only ones acknowledged from then on.

If the Lions are looking for some motivation, rival Michigan was unranked to start the season last fall and went on to conquer the Big Ten and make their first playoff appearance in the Orange Bowl.

Penn State Football and Purdue are both unranked but will clash in primetime in Week 1 on Thursday, September 1st on FOX.