December 2, 2012 at 1:55 PM

Penn State received 83 votes in this week's AP poll, the most of any team outside of the top 25.

The Nittany Lions finished their season last weekend at 8-4 and picked up 61 votes in the previous poll. But due to the events of the weekend in college football, Penn State was able to garner 83 votes — the most the team received this season.

A big reason for the jump for Penn State was due to Wisconsin's 70-31 thrashing of Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Lions beat the Badgers in overtime last week on an emotional senior day at Beaver Stadium.

Wisconsin, which will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl with an 8-5 record, was two spots behind Penn State in the polls with 62 votes. Four Big Ten teams cracked the top 25 (No. 3 Ohio State, No. 19 Michigan, No. 21 Northwestern and No. 23 Nebraska).

Notre Dame, which finished the season at a perfect 12-0 and SEC Champion, Alabama, top the poll and the two teams will likely face each other in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 7.