The USA Today football poll was released this morning, and local teams are well represented.
↵Penn State will open the season ranked highest, coming in at No. 14. The Nittany Lions, picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten this season, will face the near unanimous No. 1 Alabama week two in Tuscaloosa. Penn State will be the first team in history to face three BCS winners from the previous season in Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 10 Iowa.
↵In a trend continuing from 2009, Pitt came in directly behind Penn State, opening No. 15 in the polls. The Panthers will travel No. 24 Utah in their opening contest. They'll also host No. 13 Miami later in the non-conference slate. Pitt has been picked to win the Big East, and is the highest ranked squad in the conference.
↵West Virginia finished in a tie for No. 24 with Utah. The Mountaineers travel to No. 16 Louisiana State for the big contest in their non-conference slate as they seek to distance themselves from recent NCAA rules violation accusations.
↵The coaches' poll is used as part of the BCS formula.