STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State's bye week couldn't have gone much better as the Nittany Lions' weekend of scoreboard watching resulted in the Lions moving up one spot to No. 2 overall in both of this week's AP Poll and the Amway Coaches Poll.
With Clemson's loss to Syracuse, the Nittany Lions moved from No. 3 to No. 2, continuing a rise in the rankings that marks the Lions' highest point in the polls since 1999. While the College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed starting Oct. 31, Penn State's continued climb -- coupled with some help -- certainly has the Lions in a favorable position headed into the heart of their schedule.
With ESPN's College GameDay coming to town Saturday for the Lions' White Out matchup against No. 19 Michigan (5-1), there's no doubt that spectacle certainly adds to the recruiting attention for this game. The White Out game is always the one with the most recruiting visitors every season and add in the fact that it's a night game, that both teams are ranked and that it'll be the center of the college football universe with ESPN on campus, it's safe to say the stakes are certainly high for the undefeated Lions this weekend.
Here's this week's AP Poll:
1. Alabama, 61 first-place votes
2. Penn State, No first-place votes
3. Georgia
4. TCU
5. Wisconsin
6. Ohio State
7. Clemson
8. Miami
9. Oklahoma
10. Oklahoma State
11. USC
12. Washington
13. Notre Dame
14. Virginia Tech
15. Washington State
16. South Florida
17. North Carolina State
18. Michigan State
19. Michigan
20. UCF
21. Auburn
22. Stanford
23. West Virginia
24. LSU
25. Memphis
Penn State's players returned to campus Sunday afternoon where they'll have a bonus Michigan practice, a term James Franklin uses to describe an extra workout focused on the next opponent. Typically Sunday is spent making corrections from the game the day before, but this is where the Lions' bye week helps them get even more ahead. As usual, the players will have their off day on Monday.
Bye week is over,100% focus now on Michigan, Michigan, Michigan! Going to need all of of Nittany Nation UNITED!#109kStrong#WeAre#WhiteOut
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) October 15, 2017
Franklin wanted Penn State's players to watch at least 30 minutes of film this weekend so they'd be prepared with detailed questions when the team met on Sunday. Certainly many were tuned in to the Wolverines' overtime victory against Indiana.
In the latest round of way too early bowl projections, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports pegged the Lions for a trip to the College Football Semifinal, where he projects they'd play Ohio State back in the Rose Bowl. Palm projected Alabama vs. Clemson in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the other College Football Playoff semifinal site.