The truth is that Penn State probably had no business being in the top 5. Coming off a strong year and returning some stars is usually a good sign, but Penn State played very poor teams early on, all almost 30 point dogs, and looked very mediocre (although clearly composed of a different level of talent) when they built a 3-0 record and an 0-3 mark against the spread.
After yesterday's loss the polls are, well, strange. The AP has Penn State 15th, two spots behind Iowa. I have no idea how the coaches' were able to justify us at 13, four spots ahead of Iowa. Strange, but what I would expect from a stupid polling system that is comprised of the worst possible pool of voters who don't (and can't) watch more than 5% of the games.
Here's your poll stalker. The highest vote is a 10 and nine people left Penn State off of their ballots.
Of interest: The coaches love Florida, bump Boise State into the five-spot, and slot Ohio State at #9 (Cincinnati is getting dangerously close at 4-0, the land at #11).
As far as undefeated drops go, Penn State actually got out in decent shape:
| Team | Last Week | This Week | Change |
| Miami | 13 | 21 | -8 |
| Penn State | 4 | 13 | -9 |
| Mississippi | 5 | 18 | -13 |
| California | 6 | 19 | -13 |
The good news is that no one outside of Florida, probably Texas and maybe Alabama seems that good. Getting back into the top 5 is not going to be an impossible task if the team takes care of business into November. And as awesome as Iowa looked on the offensive and defensive line, they've got a full slate to take on including road games against a some how 4-0 Wisconsin and Ohio State.
It's a long way to go until the finish line.