Coaches Poll top 25: Tennessee tumbles as Penn State enters top five in college football rankings

The Nittany Lions and a couple other Big Ten teams got nice boosts in this week's Coaches Poll

By David Cobb

Oct 6, 2024 at 12:56 pm ET • 1 min read

USATSI

Penn State rose two spots from No. 7 to No. 5 in the new college football Coaches Poll on Sunday after the Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 with a 27-11 win over UCLA. They were one of three Big Ten teams on the rise in the poll following a chaotic weekend of college football.

Ohio State rose from No. 3 to No. 2 after a convincing 35-7 win over Iowa, and Oregon surged three spots to No. 3 after a 31-10 win over Michigan State on Friday night. The good week for the Big Ten in the poll corresponded with a bad week for the SEC, however, as Alabama fell five spots to No. 7 following its stunning loss to Vanderbilt

Among the other top-10 teams that went tumbling in the Coaches Poll were Tennessee and Missouri after both suffered SEC road losses. The Volunteers dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 after surrendering an 11-point lead in the second half of a loss at Arkansas.

Missouri was even more harshly penalized as the Tigers fell from No. 9 to No. 18 following a 41-10 loss at Texas A&M. The Aggies' dominance helped them surge from No. 21 to No. 14 as one of the biggest risers in the poll.

Texas stayed put at No. 1 on the heels of a bye week. The Longhorns face rival Oklahoma, which rose one spots to No. 16 after the Sooners were also on a bye.

Here's a look at the full Week 7 Coaches Poll, with first-place votes in parentheses.