The latest AP poll is out and, gasp, Penn State made one of the biggest jumps of the week, moving from No. 16 to No. 12, and passing Big Ten rival Ohio State in the process.

So now, according to pollsters, the Nittany Lions are the second-best team in the conference, Wisconsin currently sits at No. 9. Rounding out the Big Ten representatives are the Buckeyes at No. 14 and Penn State's next opponent, Illinois, sitting at No. 22.

USC remains in the top spot, earning 62 of 65 first-place votes.

Vanderbilt and TCU both joined the poll, replacing Florida State and West Virginia, who both dropped out following losses.

ESPN analysts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit both had the Lions in their top 10. Fowler lists Penn State at No. 8 while Herbstreit has them sitting at No. 9.

Two pollsters, Bret Bloomquist from the El Paso Times in El Paso, Tex. and Scott Wolf from the Los Angeles Daily News both had Penn State at No. 20, the lowest of any pollsters.

Of note though, Wolf also has his hometown Trojans rated third behind Georgia and Florida, so who knows about his judgment.

-- Wible