Where Penn State ranks on ESPN’s preseason FPI

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There is arguably no tougher team to get a gauge on heading into the 2026 season than Penn State. They hired Matt Campbell after their rollercoaster ride of a season last year and he appeared to be tasked with stabilizing the program.

But now with a favorable schedule and a team full of familiar faces thanks to more than 20 Iowa State transfers, the expectations are back on for the Nittany Lions. ESPN releases a Football Power Index each offseason to predict which teams will be ranked to start the season, and they are projecting Penn State to land at No. 17.

If you told anyone on the roster or in the organization that they have a chance to be ranked at the start of the 2026 season they would have taken it. Sure, there may be a few teams you can quibble about being above the Nittany Lions, but being on this list at all should be a positive sign.

Only five Big Ten teams are listed ahead of them — Oregon, USC, Ohio State, and Michigan — which would be a significant improvement from last year when Penn State finished outside of the top ten in the conference. But No. 17 would likely not be good enough to get the team into the College Football Playoff, which has to be the goal after seeing this season’s schedule. Who knows if they’ll be on the official top-25 list when it releases, but they clearly have some believers who think it’s possible.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Where Penn State ranks on ESPN’s preseason FPI

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