The AP Top 25 Preseason Poll released Monday, Aug. 11 and Penn State football is kicking the season off at No. 2 behind Texas. While controversies over how significant "on paper" projections should impact voters swarm, it might not be so bad for the Nittany Lions to start just beneath that No. 1 spot.
Starting 2016, two years into the College Football Playoff era, the preseason No. 2 team (Clemson) won the national championship. Then in 2018, the Tigers won it again after being poised as the second best team in the preseason again.