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Penn State football: Idaho victory doesn’t improve AP Poll rank

By Justin Grasso

STATE COLLEGE, PA - AUGUST 31: Journey Brown #4 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs for a touchdown against the Idaho Vandals during the first half at Beaver Stadium on August 31, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - AUGUST 31: Journey Brown #4 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs for a touchdown against the Idaho Vandals during the first half at Beaver Stadium on August 31, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Penn State football’s blowout victory against Idaho was a good stepping stone, but it didn’t move them up in the AP Poll rankings.

It’s going to take a lot more than a major week one victory at home for Penn State football to improve their reputation in college football. Going into the season, the Nittany Lions had tons of question marks surrounding their team for the most obvious reasons.

Who is their quarterback? Who will be the rushing leader? Will their offensive line keep everybody protected and create opportunities for rushers? Are the wideouts going to hold onto the ball? So many questions were brought up about the Nittany Lions, which affected how many viewed them heading into the 2019 NCAA season.

As many were unaware of how their offense would look though, there weren’t as many questions for the defensive side of the ball. Not only is that unit expected to be the strength of the team, but they also have proven experience in the most critical areas.

Writing off Penn State was never in the Associated Press’s plans. While they raised the question marks about the Nittany Lions like everybody else, they still managed to keep Penn State within the Top-25 not too long before week one kicked off. The Lions began with a fair ranking of No. 15

Working on improving

The Nittany Lions, like many Top-25 teams, won their first matchup this week. As they hosted the Idaho Vandals at Beaver Stadium, Penn State had the opportunity to put on both, an offensive and defensive clinic on in front of over 100,000 fans in Happy Valley.

The final score ended up being a blowout by Penn State, 79-7. Despite winning by such a big margin, Penn State didn’t really expect any significant jump in the ranks. And as the updated results came out on Tuesday afternoon, we found out that PSU didn’t move up at all.

Next. James Franklin fires back at critics over final score. dark

Stuck at No. 15 for at least another week, the Nittany Lions still have some work to do in order to improve their ranking. This week, they will host the Buffalo Bulls at home. While the week two opponent offers more of a problematic matchup, another big victory probably won’t do as much for Penn State this week either. As we know, the first set of games on schedule won’t make the Lions if they win. However, if they lose, it can surely break them.

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