Penn State is one of seven Big Ten football programs featured in the preseason edition of the Coaches Poll, an annual indication that kickoff is coming soon.

The Nittany Lions land at No. 14 in these rankings, trailing two conference foes: Ohio State (No. 5) and Michigan (No. 7). Penn State is listed ahead of fellow Big Ten teams Wisconsin (No. 17), Iowa (No. 19), Michigan State (No. 20) and Northwestern (No. 25).

This fall, Penn State will face four of those squads — Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State — and all except a Beaver Stadium "White Out" matchup against Michigan are on the road.

Last season, the Nittany Lions finished 9-4 and 17th in the final Coaches Poll, which is the result of voting conducted by a panel of 65 FBS head coaches, including James Franklin. Voters are selected by a random draw from a pool of program leaders who've indicated their willingness to participate. Each submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second-place vote worth 24 points, and so on until you get to a one-point value for the 25th slot.

In this case, Penn State collected 699 points. Oregon (787 points) is directly ahead of the Nittany Lions, while fellow Pac-12 squad Utah (642 points) is immediately behind.

The complete preseason Coaches Poll is pieced together as follows:

1. Clemson (59 first-place votes)

2. Alabama (6 first-place votes)

3. Georgia

4. Oklahoma

5. Ohio State

6. LSU

7. Michigan

8. Florida

9. Notre Dame

10. Texas

11. Texas A&M

12. Washington

13. Oregon

14. PENN STATE

15. Utah

16. Auburn

17. Wisconsin

18. Central Florida

19. Iowa

20. Michigan State

21. Washington State

22. Syracuse

23. Stanford

24. Iowa State

25. Northwestern

Others receiving votes (in order of highest point total): Nebraska; Boise State; Mississippi State; Miami; Army; Kentucky; Virginia Tech; Texas Christian; Southern California; Utah State; Fresno State; Virginia; Cincinnati; West Virginia; Memphis; Oklahoma State; South Carolina; NC State; Duke; Boston College; Florida State; Baylor; Appalachian State; North Texas; Houston; UCLA; Temple; Arizona State; Troy; Tennessee; Mississippi; Minnesota

From a national viewpoint, Penn State is widely expected to field an outstanding defense, and there are few concerns regarding overall athleticism across the roster.

"I just know we had a bunch of eye-popping numbers in terms of guys that have run extremely fast," Franklin said in July. "You know, 4.3 (seconds) or better (in the 40-yard dash). More so than any place I've been. ... We're fast."

The key question mark centers on an offensive group that must replace starters at quarterback, running back, tackle and guard, and features a largely unproven, yet high-potential, group of receivers. Franklin has not yet named a starting quarterback, though it would greatly surprise if redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford isn't the pick.

In related college football rankings news, the Associated Press Top 25 Poll will go public Aug. 19. Penn State has the fifth-longest streak of weekly appearances (40) in those rankings, trailing only Alabama (179), Ohio State (114), Clemson (68) and Oklahoma (43). The Nittany Lions finished 17th in the AP Top 25 last season, following top-10 placements in 2017 (eighth) and 2016 (seventh).

Penn State opens its season Aug. 31. at home against Idaho.