Penn State drops to No. 5 in AP Poll, Amway Coaches Poll

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- While the real poll that matters most won't be released until Halloween when the first round of College Football Playoff rankings come in, checking in on Penn State's place in this week's Amway Coaches Poll and AP Poll, especially after Ohio State lost to Oklahoma, has value.

The Nittany Lions dropped from No. 4 to No. 5 in this week's Amway Coaches Poll, largely because of USC's victory against Stanford and Oklahoma beating the Buckeyes. Sam Darnold and the Trojans jumped ahead of Penn State to claim the No. 4 spot while Ohio State fell from No. 2 to No. 9.



The top 10 in the Coaches Poll is as follows:

1. Alabama (58 first-place votes)
2. Clemson (Two first-place votes)
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Penn State
6. Washington
7. Michigan
8. Oklahoma State
9. Ohio State
10. Florida State

The top-10 in the AP Poll is:

1. Alabama (58 first-place votes)
2. Oklahoma (two first-place votes)
3. Clemson (one first-place vote)
4. USC
5. Penn State
6. Washington
7. Michigan
8. Ohio State
9. Oklahoma State
10. Wisconsin

With one more non-conference tuneup for the Nittany Lions before they hit the road to play Iowa, we'll see how much Saquon Barkley and the rest of the Lions can pad their stats. After Barkley's 88 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards against Pitt, his Heisman campaign continues.

Penn State's official team site launched a website within the past week where they're housing all of Barkley's highlights from this season and using the hashtag #HappyValleyHeisman. Someone should've told the marketing team to double check the scoreboard though as Penn State misspelled Barkley's last name on the jumbotron when he was introduced before the game.

Barkley is up to 429 all-purpose yards this season and has four touchdowns. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated, has Barkley third in the Heisman race after Saturday's game, coming in behind quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson, with the latter winning the Heisman last season.

ODDS AND ENDS

As I continue emptying the notebook following the Lions' win against Pitt, here are some other notes and observations to pass along. I'll have my usual Monday piece, Upon further review, up tomorrow as we flip the page to the upcoming game.

• Penn State plays Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and just how many more night games could the Nittany Lions have? Well, the start time for the game in two weeks at Iowa still doesn't have an announced time and could potentially be a night game. The Lions' actual White Out game on Oct. 21 against Michigan also doesn't have an announced start time and with the Wolverines and Penn State both in the top-10 that one seemingly should all but be a lock for a night game if the season continues playing out as it has for both teams.

But, what about the Nittany Lions' home game against Indiana on Sept. 30? That one also doesn't have a start time and after the way the Hoosiers played Ohio State on the opening night of the season there could be some intrigue there. We'll see.

• Safety Nick Scott saw an increase in playing time against the Panthers, which again speaks to wherever Ayron Monroe actually fits in on this depth chart. Monroe played a lot on various special teams units, but didn't record a snap on defense. Andrew Callahan of Lions247 tallied Scott with playing 32 of Penn State's 87 snaps, while starting safeties Marcus Allen had 71 snaps and Troy Apke had 65.

Scott was in with Apke down around the goal line when Allen was getting a breather. Scott played both safety spots and said as part of one rotation the Lions run he will come in at the free safety spot and then later on go to strong.

"I was pretty comfortable," Scott said. "Coach [Tim] Banks does a great job of preparing the safety group as a whole. I'm really confident that anybody can go in there when necessary and help the team out. ... I'm just proud of my growth so far and each rep I take in the game I'm trying to take it to the best of my ability and each time I come off I'm trying to learn a little bit more so I can keep contributing at safety."

• Tackling is one area where Franklin said the Lions need to do a better job. Middle linebacker Jason Cabinda agreed with that assessment and said the Lions "can definitely be better" in that area.

"I think it lingered a little bit this week," Cabinda said of some of the tackling. "A lot of the times, a lot of tackles we were getting stops and then they were falling forward for first downs. Closing the door and making them go backwards probably will be a focus this week."

• Drive start average is a key stat and the Nittany Lions' special teamers did a nice job limiting Pitt in that area. The Panthers' average drive started at their own 18 and three times Pitt started within their own 10.

• Pitt defensive lineman Kam Carter, who started his collegiate career at Penn State, had a little fun after he stopped Barkley early on in the game. The two were part of the same 2015 recruiting class.

"We've kept in conversations and kept in contact throughout his process of transferring and going on and going to JUCO and now playing at Pitt," Barkley said. "His first play of the game he got a tackle on me and kind of stood over me so it was all fun and love. I wish Kamonte the best. Great guy."