What needs to happen for Penn State to claim the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25?

The No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions are having a season that feels a lot more like a championship-caliber effort than in past years. At 7-0, head coach James Franklin is leading his boys into a massive Big Ten clash with No. 4 Ohio State.

The Buckeyes have already fallen to a Top 5 opponent this season, stumbling 32-31 to now-No. 1 Oregon just a few weeks ago. Another falter of such a magnitude would all but doom their title hopes.

However, on the flip side of that same coin, a win for Penn State would elevate it to a true national title contender overnight. But would it be enough to earn the top spot in the AP rankings and take it away from new-to-conference foe Oregon?

We've already considere whether or not the Nittany Lions should pass both No. 2 Georgia and No. 1 Oregon for the top spot here. But other factors are at play for Penn State. It's not as simple as beating Ohio State and waiting to see if the voters hand over the crown to Happy Valley.

What else needs to happen for Penn State to claim the AP No. 1 ranking?

On top of a victory over the No. 4 Buckeyes, Penn State will need to do some scoreboard watching along with the AP voters to see if there's enough wobbling at the top to warrant a boost.

No. 1 Oregon travels to Ann Arbor for what should be its final challenging matchup of the year against Michigan. The Ducks would need to lose or be trailing for a significant portion of the game for Penn State to have even a sliver of hope for the top rank. Even so, the AP voters have previously shown they reward No. 1 teams for winning even if in ugly fashion.

On top of that, No. 2 Georgia faces off with rival Florida in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs should have no problem sending the Gators back to the swamp, so only a loss will do Penn State any good here.

Now, there's still a hope that if Penn State convincingly beats Ohio State, it won't matter what Georgia does because a Top 5 win is still a Top 5 win. The only argument against them in that scenario would be the fact that Georgia also has a Top 5 win (against then-No. 1 Texas just two weeks ago).

A lot needs to happen for Penn State to claim the No. 1 spot, but we've seen crazier things in college football. And if this season has already proven anything, it's that the unlikely unfolding before our eyes is a regular occurrence.