Penn State football checked in at No. 12 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.

JUST IN: Penn State football held its ground at No. 12 in this week's @AP_Top25 poll. pic.twitter.com/cumqOkzyjC

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 1, 2019

Minnesota fell behind Penn State and checked in at No. 15 in this week’s rankings, but No. 11 Auburn leapfrogged James Franklin’s program after beating No. 9 Alabama in the Iron Bowl. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 18 Iowa are the other Big Ten teams in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.

The Nittany Lions wrapped up their regular season with a 27-6 victory over Rutgers at Beaver Stadium. It took a while for the Penn State offense to settle into the contest, but Journey Brown’s hat trick of touchdowns along with Will Levis’ 44-yard strike to Jahan Dotson capped off the team’s third 10-win regular season in the last four years.

James Franklin’s program has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for 55 consecutive weeks, which is the third-longest streak in program history. Penn State holds the fifth-longest active stretch of weeks in the poll behind Alabama (194 consecutive weeks), Ohio State (129), Clemson (83), and Oklahoma (58). The team’s season-high ranking in the poll was No. 5 after beginning the season at No. 15.

In addition to the AP Top 25 poll, Penn State was ranked as the nation’s No. 11 team in this week’s Coaches’ Poll. The Nittany Lions peaked at No. 5 in the Coaches’ Poll after starting the year at No. 15.

James Franklin’s program was also the No. 10 team in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings. The College Football Playoff committee will unveil its new top 25 rankings early this week.

No. 12 Penn State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) now await their postseason destination, which will be decided after this upcoming weekend’s slate of conference championship games.