ESPN's first College Football Power Index ratings of 2025 held the status quo for Penn State football, despite all the recent praise for the Nittany Lions' offs

FPI views the SEC as the strongest conference in football since the SEC has the top three teams and five of the top 10 teams in the FPI rankings. The Big Ten has three top 10 teams, the ACC has just one, and Notre Dame rounds out the list.

If Penn State is able to maintain a top-six ranking through the end of the season, it would mark the fourth consecutive campaign with a top-six finish. Since the metric debuted in 2005, the Nittany Lions have made eight top-10 appearances, with a high of No. 4 in 2017.