Penn State football came in as the No. 9 team in the country in the first coaches’ poll of the 2018 season.

The Nittany Lions’ ranking puts them in the top ten of the preseason coaches’ poll for the second consecutive season after being placed at No. 6 prior to the start of last season. Before that poll, Penn State hadn’t appeared in the preseason top 25 since 2011.

James Franklin’s squad is the third-highest ranked team in the Big Ten; Ohio State (No. 3) and Wisconsin (No. 7) both rank above Penn State in the poll. Michigan State (No. 12) and Michigan (No. 14) are the only other Big Ten teams to appear in the poll.

The 65 coaches that vote on the coaches’ poll clearly agree that James Franklin’s team still has the talent of a top-ten team in the country despite the losses of Saquon Barkley, Mike Gesicki, Marcus Allen, and several other key pieces of last year’s team to the NFL.

Trace McSorley has grown into one of college football’s best signal callers and is surrounded by plenty of talent on offense. Miles Sanders is poised to take the reins as the team’s starting tailback behind an offensive line that James Franklin has more confidence in than ever.

Expectations may not be as high as they were entering last season, but the Nittany Lions are clearly still seen as one of the ten best teams in all of college football. Penn State’s 2018 season begins in 30 days with a showdown with Appalachian State at Beaver Stadium.