Penn State slips to 16th in AP college football poll

Penn State dropped three spots to No. 16 in the Associated Press top 25 college football rankings on Sunday after a 44-31 loss to No. 2 Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) saw their chances of contending for a conference title all but disappear Saturday in a game marked by the continued emergence of Buckeyes star Marvin Harrison Jr.

A former St. Joseph’s Prep standout, Harrison pulled in 10 receptions for 185 yards, although the Lions kept him out of the end zone.

Penn State visits Indiana (1-4, 3-5) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Coming off a bye week, the Hoosiers have lost five straight.

Tennessee moved into a tie with Ohio State for No. 2 in the AP poll to set up a 1 vs. 2 matchup on Saturday with top-ranked Georgia.

» READ MORE: No. 13 Penn State falls to No. 2 Ohio State behind a 28-point fourth quarter Buckeyes performance

The showdown in Athens, Ga., will be the 25th regular-season game matching the top two teams in the AP poll, and the third straight involving Southeastern Conference teams. Neither the Bulldogs nor the Volunteers have ever played in a 1-2 game in the regular season.

Georgia remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week, receiving 30 first-place votes and 1,528 points.

The Volunteers moved up a spot, receiving 18 first-place votes and 1,500 points to match Ohio State. The Buckeyes received 15 first-place votes. The last time there was a tie at No. 2 in the AP poll was Nov. 14, 2004, between Auburn and Oklahoma behind No. 1 Southern California.

On Saturday, Tennessee routed Kentucky, 44-6. Tennessee has not been ranked this high since it was No. 2 in 2001, a season when the Vols finished fourth.

No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Clemson, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 TCU, and No. 8 Oregon held their spots in the rankings. USC moved up a spot to ninth and No. 10 UCLA gave the Pac-12 three teams in the top 10 for the first time since November 2016.

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season will be released Tuesday night.