It's no secret that Penn State has one of the best teams in college football, especially in terms of experience. It arguably has the best backfields in the country and majorly upgraded the wide receiver room to fix 2024's struggles on the perimeter.
Head coach James Franklin won't have this level of experience after the 2025-26 season, so it's essentially a now or never scenario (at least for the near future).
ESPN's Bill Connelly has the Nittany Lions with a 10.4 wins on average and 7.4 in the Big Ten and put them third in SP+. They're a consistent, predictable team. As Connelly puts it, "[t]hey win and lose the games they're supposed to."
However, that predictability works against Penn State, particularly in games it needs to win. When not favored, it holds a 0-6 record, and it's against top ranked teams when the Nittany Lions take the underdog position.
ESPN's Bill Connelly says Penn State has the tools to win a championship
"If that doesn't change now, will it ever? Penn State has more proven entities than any team in college football in 2025," Connelly wrote before listing Franklin, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, and incoming defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
Kotelnicki has returners Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Drew Allar, Vega Ioane, and Luke Reynolds. For his wideouts, he has transfers Devonte Ross, Trebor Pena, and Kyron Hudson to work with. There are almost no limits when it comes to this offense, but fans won't see what these players can truly produce until Week 5 against Oregon.
While the weight won't leave Allar's shoulders, "it was going to be almost impossible for him to live up to the hype," Connelly wrote. He needs to take a huge leap in 2025-26 to end his collegiate career if Penn State wants to win the College Football Playoff championship, though. Lucky for Allar, like Kotelnicki, he has all the pieces around him to make that jump.
For Knowles, he has Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, Tony Rojas, Dom DeLuca, Amare Campbell, A.J. Harris, and Zakee Wheatley. There's more limitation here in terms of depth, but coming off a national championship win with Ohio State and joining a program with solid players shouldn't be a major concern for the Nittany Lions.
ESPN's Bill Connelly says "it would be a shame" if Penn State doesn't take advantage of all the cards falling into place
Almost everything is in Penn State's corner in 2025, and it'll come down to whether Franklin, Allar, and the Nittany Lions as a whole can handle the pressure that starts in Week 5 and rides out (pretty much) into playoffs.
"If PSU continues the 'win as a favorite, lose as a dog' thing in 2025, the Nittany Lions probably will reach the Big Ten championship game again . . . They'll probably be favored in every other game, especially through a ridiculously weak non[-]conference slate," Connelly said. ". . . Rarely do all the arrows point in the right direction the way they are for the Nittany Lions heading into this season. It would be a shame not to take advantage of that."