Penn State ranked No. 7 in preseason coaches poll
With the return of quarterback Sean Clifford and eight other starters on offense, Penn State is ranked No. 7 in the Amway/USA Today preseason college football coaches poll, released Thursday.
Clifford threw for 2,654 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for five more scores while leading Penn State to an 11-2 record last season.
Clemson, the runner-up to national champion LSU last season, tops the poll, followed by Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma. After Penn State, Florida, Oregon and Georgia round out the Top 10.
Penn State’s schedule includes No. 2 Ohio State, No. 15 Michigan and No. 23 Iowa. Michigan is the only road game of the three.
Pitt received one voting point in the poll. The Panthers are scheduled to play three of the Top 25, including Clemson, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 24 Virginia Tech. Pitt will serve as hosts for Notre Dame and Virginia Tech at Heinz Field.
Penn State coach James Franklin is joined on the 65-man panel of voters by West Virginia coach Neal Brown and former Pitt coaches Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) and Todd Graham (Hawaii).
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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