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2018 Preseason Penn State Nittany Lions Rankings

Main Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
studio_sally	3
taloncarde	3
JaxofAllTrades13	4
ryker888	4
stripes361	4	Penn State is only 8th in the composite but I'm a true believer. They're my darkhorse pick for the CFP. Miles Sanders is going to wow a lot of people. I actually think Mike Gesicki and all four starters in the defensive backfield will be bigger losses than Saquon Barkley, as great as he was. But I trust Franklin to solidify the defense and this offense is going to be electric. Composite: 39.4
CertifiedSheep	5	Homer
flipadelphia17	5
plannedsickdays	5
BlueFalcon89	6
BobDeLaSponge	6
cajunaggie08	6
ChickenTaco	6
DeceptiveSpeed	6
G-manP	6
GeneralGBO	6
halldaylong	6
hascogrande	6
justsaynotoreddit	6	0.908
Mario_Speedwagon	6
noahthearc	6
sirgippy	6
TDenverFan	6
Texasagsman	6
VerySeriousBanana	6
AaronRodgers16	7
alextoyalex	7
Blooblod	7	I feel like Penn State lost someone pretty good this offseason, but for the life of me I can't remember who. Oh well, they're probably replaceable. Look for Trace "50-50 Ball" McSorley to break the 50-50 ball stereotype this season as he propels the Nittany Lions to another great season. Miles Sanders, who for some reason didn't play a big role last season, is also a huge breakout candidate--but don't sleep on Mark Allen either. James Franklin has hinted at this possibly being the year of the o-line in Happy Valley, which probably left a lot of the Nittany Lion faithful confused being that most of them probably don't know what an o-line is. The LB corps just got a huge boost with the return of the previously-dismissed Manny Bowen. The d-line replaces both DTs but should still be great at all four spots. A trio of talented corners will hope to take some pressure off a safety tandem that could be a weak spot. Also, I still have no idea what position Lamont Wade plays. My Nittany Lions record prediction: 10-2. I think Akron takes a step back this year, but Terry Bowden has been around too long to not have some tricks up his sleeve. Look for Bowden and the Zips to win two of their 12 meetings with the Nittany Lions this season.
BlueSCar	7
deadtofall12	7
e8odie	7
Fifth_Down	7
GenialGiant	7	Penn State lost a fair amount on offense, along with their offensive coordinator, but they still look to be in a strong position this season following a very good showing last year.
Hobbes_121	7
KingKliffsbury	7
lebaronslebaron	7
mellolizard	7
mynameisjona	7
ndhuskerpower	7
nemoran	7
Our-Gardian-Angel	7
runujhkj	7
SCsprinter13	7
SometimesY	7
UNC_Samurai	7
vanburen1845	7
was_saying_boo_urns	7
WeenisWrinkle	7
03040905	8
AllHawkeyesGoToHell	8
Alwaysahawk	8
bakonydraco	8
BamaPride95	8
Bill3ffinMurray	8
BosskOnASegway	8
Branzilla91	8
Brostradamus_	8
buttforaface	8
bwburke94	8
CambodianDrywall	8
cfbguy	8
chrisb19	8	The good news: Trace McSorley is back. The bad news is that Joe Moorhead and Saquon Barkley are gone. A tough schedule that includes both Michigan teams, Ohio State, and Wisconsin is going to give them a lot to prove, but Penn State still feels like one of the top teams in the Big Ten.
coreyfra	8
Daigotsu	8
dan4223	8
doormatt26	8
Feral_Squirrel	8
g_mo821	8
Hackasizlak	8
icklebush	8
jnoobs13	8
kdcoltred	8
mjacksongt	8	They lost the flashy guys who look good winning football games (Barkley and DBs) but returned the guys that just win football games (the OL and DL). They could be a top 15 team in the country and not be a top 3 team in their division.
MonkeyPunch	8	11-2
Papalew32	8
polydorr	8
Rakarei	8
RobertNeyland	8
SCRx	8
tdeff19	8
THECrew42	8
ToLongDR	8
WarEagle9	8
xelphin	8	The loss of Saquon Barkley hurts, but if they can fill that position with someone half as good, the Nittany Lions are not going to play around. They also have an absolute gauntlet of a schedule, playing Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin...though they play all but Michigan at home. If they can arrive in Piscataway in late November without a loss, it's all over.
A-Stu-Ute	9
bgr308	9
captain_sasquatch	9
Cassiyus	9
CFSparta92	9
DanNeverDie	9
dicky_________seamus	9
djowen68	9
Dropbackandpunt	9
Fmeson	9
Ghost_of_Dude	9
GilBrandt	9
HarbingerOfFun	9
HelioOne	9
itsabearcannon	9
jmac_21	9	Penn State rarely beats themselves. They'll be a tough out this year.
olmsted	9
Pikachu1989	9
Plneapple	9
ReallyCreative	9
Red261	9
relax_on_the_mat	9
retnuh101	9
ScarletFever333	9
scronko	9
seaotter2	9
The-Gothic-Castle	9
TotalEconomist	9
Xtremeloco	9
3RDnKING	10
alsonamedbort87	10
boxman151515	10	No Barkley will hurt Penn State, but now we'll get to see what Trace McSorley can do without him. I suspect he'll do just fine, and might thrive in the spotlight. This team is talented, and James Franklin has given them a swagger that can go a long way in tough games.
corundum9	10
DEP61	10
galacticdude7	10
GoBlueScrewOSU7	10
Greflingorax	10
joebob431	10
Nathanael-Greene	10
TanzaniaMagic	10
TaylorLeprechaun	10
ThaCarter	10
TheReformedBadger	10
TriStarBear	10
typicaliconoclast	10
W_Is_For_Will	10	Close lost to Big 10 Champ.
Charlemagne42	11
conchobor	11
DarkLegend64	11
FellKnight	11
Hey_Its_Roomie	11	Gut feeling says, despite the homer-hype, Penn State will be the most underwhelming of the B1G powerhouses this year. There's still a decently mentored OC and McSquirrely, but the loss in assets on offense will cost us games that would've been wins with last year's roster.
JeromesNiece	11	Trace McSorely is one of the best returning QBs in the country, and I don't think the loss of Saquon Barkley will ultimately hurt Penn State too much. They will be a top-10 quality team but may drop a couple between the Big Ten East gauntlet and Wisconsin.
Johnnycockseed	11
RatherBeYachting	11
RegulatorRWF	11
RiffRamBahZoo	11
sasmith2015	11
ShogunAshoka	11
tmart12	11
uwbjb	11
woakley	11	Hear me out. Penn State lost a ton of weapons on offense. They lost a Heisman contender a solid TE and a playmaking receiver in addition to losing some key pieces of the secondary. Even given all that I think that McSorely is talented enough to replace some of that production. I think it's hard to project how Penn State will replace so many pieces, but I have confidence in Franklin that he has Penn State headed down the right path 
BallSoHerd	12
cmdrcaboose2	12
djmoody90	12
eclectic_tastes	12
I_am_bot_beep_boop	12
monkeymatt1836	12
nickknx865	12	1924
tallg8tor	12
thegreendalegelf	12
TheTeamCubed	12
ucieaters33	12
wesman212	12
52hoova	13	Have been solid for 2 straight years. Have a really good coach. But also lost one of the best RBs in the country. 
admiraltarkin	13
Extra_Excrement	13	Losing Barkley hurts but the PSU offense should still click fine with McSorley . The glaring issues are that Moorhead is gone and that the defense looks like they're returning only 3 men (last I checked). The good news is that PSU has a nice slate of Happy Valley games this season. @Wiscy and @Michigan will still be tough but it's at least manageable. Jeez, just filling out this preseason poll makes me realize how much of a bloodbath the Big Ten is this year.
G-Aardvark	13
goblue10	13	McSorley is the truth but losing Moorhead and Barkley's gotta be worth something right? Right? Pls
JCiLee	13
JonesUCF34	13
moistats_	13
PHubbs	13	You know a division is loaded when its 4th best team is ranked 13th in the country. Penn State will suffer this year not from a lack of coaching or talent but instead a murder's row scheduler that will be next to impossible to complete unscathed. I don't mean to disrespect a defending conference champion, but they will need that little bit of luck they had in close games last year to come through again if they expect to defend their title. They proved last year that they can take down the B1G's giants when given the chance. Four giants maybe too many for anyone to take down in one season though.
T-nawtical	13
T-Thugs	13	Gross.
TheZachster	13
brobroma	14
CockADoodleBOOM	14
dabul-master	14
Harmbert_	14
hokies220	14	Wow this division is tough ain't it?
Miami_da_U	14
SSJRoshi	14
ya111101	14
BorisNumber1	15
BrutonGaster77	15
confirmd_am_engineer	15
kelling928	15
mickeyquicknumbers	15	Last year Penn State ended up being almost underrated. Both the offense and the defense were borderline top-10 units. This year I think they'll take a step back, in part because of massive attrition, and in part due to the departure of offensive savant Joe Morehead. Losing Saquon Barkley's 1900 yards from scrimmage is big sure, but then also losing go-to receiver Daesean Hamilton, and go-to tight end target Mike Gesicki make for a trio of bigtime replacements needed to compliment the offense around Trace McSworley. The defense too, loses a tremendous amount of experience, including the entire starting secondary, and the two leading tacklers at linebacker. While I don't expect Penn State to fall off a cliff thanks to the talent they've amassed (hello Miles Sanders, Juwon Johnson, Lamont Wade) - I do expect a step back on both sides of the ball due to personnel; so this seems about right.
puffadda	15
Helifino	16
HUSKEROYAL	16	Barkley is gone, but McSorley is still under center. They don't seem as good on paper as tOSU, Michigan, or MSU, but James Franklin is an outstanding coach and I expect the Lions to be competitive each week.
teddythe3rd	17
TheJeemTeam	17	PSU ended up towards the bottom of this tier due to having to replace a lot on offense and losing OC Joe Moorhead. They're above Florida though as they're a team that I would likely not have ranked if I was doing a pure human poll.
PureCFR	19
Wurst_Law	20

Provisional Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason

Blue = Human
Red = Computer
Green = Hybrid

Bold = before the AP poll was published
Normal = after the AP poll was published

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