COLUMBUS – A decisive win by Penn State over Michigan on Saturday has set up a game at Ohio Stadium Saturday which may very well decide the race for the Big Ten East Division title and have a major impact on the College Football Playoff.
No. 6 Ohio St. (6-1, 4-0) vs. No. 2 Penn St. (7-0, 4-0), Ohio Stadium, Oct. 28 (3:30 p.m./FOX)
A grittier performance was what Penn State coach James Franklin wanted to see against the hard-hitting Michigan Wolverines and it’s what he wants moving forward.
The Nittany Lions’ toughest stretch continues with trips to Columbus and East Lansing to face Michigan State, which is No. 16 in the AP Top 25 and No. 18 in the coaches’ poll.
The loss to the Nittany Lions dropped Michigan out of the AP rankings for the first time in two years though the Wolverines are hanging on at No. 25 in the coaches’ survey.
A week after a rash of upsets gave the poll a shake-up, the first eight teams in the latest AP Top 25 were unchanged. Alabama remains a unanimous No. 1 in the media poll. Penn State is No. 2 and Georgia is No. 3, followed by TCU, Wisconsin and the Buckeyes.
The top six spots in the coaches’ poll were unchanged. Notre Dame cracked the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10 in the coaches’ poll.