Penn State football has been ranked No. 13 in the Week 3 AP Poll, the Associated Press announced Sunday. It’s a one-spot move from No. 14 following Week 2.

The Nittany Lions throttled Buffalo 55-13 on Saturday to round out non-conference play.

JUST IN: @PennStateFball jumped one spot to No. 13 in Week Three of the AP Top 25 Poll. pic.twitter.com/Vb8D2rLmWv

— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 20, 2026

Penn State finally got the run game going behind the four-headed monster of Quinton Martin Jr., James Peoples, Cam Wallace, and Carson Hansen. The backs rushed for 273 yards and four touchdowns.

Rocco Becht continued to dominate; the pass defense let up just 60 yards, and Zay Robinson continued to spark conversation with his production in the punt return game.

In the Big Ten, Oregon bounced back from its Week 2 loss to Oklahoma State with an 84-0 win over Portland State on Friday to get back up to No. 20. Now-No. 7 Ohio State also got back in the win column with a 59-3 beatdown of Kent State in Columbus.

Michigan survived a first-half scare against UTEP in convincing fashion to rise to No. 18, and now-No. 12 USC walked out of SHI Stadium with a win after a shootout with Rutgers. The Nittany Lions face the Trojans and Wolverines in Weeks 6 and 7.

Other Big Ten teams in the rankings are No. 5 Indiana and No. 17 Iowa.

Penn State will kick off its conference slate against Wisconsin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, in Beaver Stadium. It will be Matt Campbell’s Big Ten debut. Folks can watch the game on Peacock.

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