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Penn State’s upset loss to Indiana drops the Nittany Lions down 10 spots to No. 18 in rankings

The Nittany Lions earned a spot in the Associated Press poll for the 63rd consecutive week but their ranking dropped to its lowest since a No. 21 ranking on Nov. 4, 2018.

Penn State's Sean Clifford runs out of the tackle of Indiana's Jovan Swann for a touchdown during the second half. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Penn State's Sean Clifford runs out of the tackle of Indiana's Jovan Swann for a touchdown during the second half. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)Read moreDarron Cummings / AP

Penn State dropped 10 spots in the latest Associated Press poll released Sunday, coming in at No. 18 following its 36-35 overtime upset loss to Indiana.

The Nittany Lions are ranked in the top 25 for the 63rd consecutive week, the fourth-longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. But their drop to 18 is the lowest ranking they’ve had since Nov. 4, 2018, when they were No. 21. They were not ranked lower than 15th last year.

Penn State was ranked No. 17 in the coaches' poll, also a drop of 10 rungs from last week. The Nittany Lions hurt themselves Saturday at Indiana with a bunch of mental mistakes, including 10 penalties, three turnovers, and three missed field goal attempts.

Ohio State, the Lions' next opponent, Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, rose from fifth to third after a 52-17 drubbing of Nebraska. The Hoosiers debuted in the 2020 poll at No. 17, their highest ranking since 1993, when they were also 17th.

Clemson again was ranked No. 1, receiving 52 first-place votes in the balloting of media members. Alabama picked up the other 10 first-place ballots and stayed second.

Notre Dame, despite a 45-3 rout of Pittsburgh, dropped one notch, to No. 4, as did fifth-ranked Georgia. Undefeated Oklahoma State remained No. 6 after defeating Iowa State, while Cincinnati moved up to No. 7 – the highest rank of a Group of 5 team – after a 42-13 win over Southern Methodist. Texas A&M was eighth.

Wisconsin and Michigan matched the highest jumps of the week, five spots, with the Badgers vaulting from 14th to ninth after routing Illinois, and the Wolverines coming in at No. 13 after their impressive 49-24 victory at Minnesota.

Florida, idled because of COVID-19 concerns, rounded out the top 10, followed by BYU, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, North Carolina, and Kansas State.

No. 24 Oklahoma reentered the rankings after three weeks out.

The Big Ten led the way with five teams in the top 25.