Penn State comes off a season in the College Football Playoff and finds itself ranked in the top 3 in both major college football polls. 2025 remains a massive season for a program that has basically done everything except win college football’s biggest prizes. Going into his 12th season at PSU, James Franklin has one Big Ten title and no national titles.
But with a top roster and a competitive Big Ten that figures to again have CFP spots for likely three teams, Penn State shapes up well for a competitive 2025 season. Here’s an early rundown on the status of the Nittany Lions heading into 2025.
Penn State 2025 Season Preview
Impact Players and Unit Overview
Penn State was 13-3 last year and ended the season with a CFP semifinal loss to Notre Dame. The Penn State offense has consistently been good and not great, but the 2025 group could raise the bar. Last year’s offense scored 33.1 points per game, and PSU returns a Heisman caliber QB and two 1,000-yard rushers.
QB Drew Allar passed for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns last year and figures to be one of the top passers not only in the Big Ten, but the nation. He returns Kaytron Allen (1,108 yards and eight TDs) and Nicholas Singleton (1,099 yards and 12 TDs) from an epic backfield. That kind of returning production is basically unequalled in college football.
Four starters return on an excellent offensive line that allowed low sack numbers over the last three years while posting 5.3 yards per rush last season. The question mark on this team is receiver– PSU lost its top three targets from last season in receiving yardage and running back Singleton is the top returning pass catcher. Transfers Kyron Hudson from USC and Trebor Pena from Syracuse will be key.
Defensively, PSU allowed just 16.5 points per game last year. Penn State allowed just 295 yards per game and posted 44 sacks. Abdul Carter is gone from the defensive line, but there’s still a fair amount of returning talent on this side of the ball.
Up front, Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant are both senior disruptors who could be All-Big Ten guys. Returning linebacker Tony Rojas was fifth on last year’s team with 58 tackles. North Carolina transfer Amare Campbell can help at linebacker. Safety Zakee Wheatley is the top returning tackler with 96 stops last year and the entire secondary is talented and experienced.
Special teams had some struggles last year, but kicker Ryan Baker and punter Riley Thompson are both back, so this group should be better in 2025.
Schedule Outlook
The big story here is the two big games– Penn State will face both of the other top ten Big Ten teams. The Nittany Lions play at Ohio State on Nov. 1, and James Franklin is just 1-10 against Ohio State in his PSU tenure. That looks like the game that will be the biggest regular season matchup in the Big Ten. But don’t sleep on a Sept. 27 home game against Oregon. PSU is off a bye week, but will open league play in this game.
Penn State does not have to face Illinois or Michigan, which should bode well for PSU’s chances. Indiana is the only other ranked foe on the schedule and that home game comes on November 8th, the week after the Ohio State game.
Penn State does play five league games on the road, with UCLA standing out because of the long trip west and Iowa being a danger because of the always valiant Hawkeye defense. Neither Michigan State nor Rutgers on the road seems likely to provide much of a challenge. The non-conference schedule of Nevada, FIU and Villanova looks like three easy wins.
Predicted Win-Loss Record
If Ohio State were coming to Happy Valley, that would look more likely as a PSU win. As things stand, given James Franklin’s record, it’s hard to justify selecting the Nittany Lions to go to Columbus and win. That game aside, history suggests another regular season loss is plausible. Oregon, at UCLA or at Iowa look like the three most likely candidates. Each presents its own issue.
The best talent of the three is at home against Oregon, the longest road trip is UCLA, and the opposing defense most likely to give Penn State trouble is Iowa. One of those three could end up a loss. But a 10-2 mark should keep PSU very much in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot in 2025.
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Preseason Coaches’ Poll Takeaways
