Penn State closed the 2023 season ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 college football poll, marking its 45th appearance in the final ranking. But for head coach James Franklin, the ranking underscored an apparent missed opportunity.
For the fifth time in Franklin’s 10 seasons as Penn State football coach, the Nittany Lions ranked lower in the final poll than in the preseason. Penn State began the 2023 season ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25 and a popular choice to make the College Football Playoff. The Lions closed the regular season with a 10-2 record and No. 10 ranking, then fell to No. 13 after a 38-25 loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.
Penn State did not reach its preseason ranking four other times under Franklin:
- 2021: Penn State was 19th in the preseason poll and unranked in the final poll
- 2020: 7th in the preseason poll, unranked in the final poll
- 2018: 10th in the preseason poll., 17th in the final poll
- 2017: 6th in the preseason poll, 8th in the final poll
Franklin’s teams have surpassed their preseason rankings three times:
- 2022: Unranked in the preseason poll, 7th in the final poll
- 2019: 15th in the preseason poll, 9th in the final poll
- 2016: Unranked in the preseason poll. 7th in the final poll
Penn State has finished in the final AP Top 25 six times in Franklin’s 10 seasons. In that decade, the team’s highest ranking is seventh (in 2016 and 2022). The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 10 four times under Franklin.