Penn State football has high expectations and tons of pressure piling up for the 2025-25 season. Not only do the Nittany Lions have one of the most experienced, talented teams in the country, but they're on a redemption arc after losing the Big Ten Championship Game to Oregon and College Football Playoff semifinals to Notre Dame.
Big-game losses from the past don't cloud head coach James Franklin's or his team's vision for the upcoming season. If anything, Franklin said at 2025 Big Ten Media Days that he embraces the national buzz happening about Penn State's team. But he doesn't let the noise get in the way.
"I came here to win Big Ten championships and win a national championship," safety Zakee Wheatley said Wednesday, according to AP's W.G. Ramirez. "The beginning of every year, that’s expectations. Whatever happens, happens. But that’s how I go into the season every year. Coach Franklin does a great job of making sure we’re laser focused on the task at hand."
Penn State's taking it one game at a time in 2025-26. While it has the end goal in mind, focusing on the present moment is how Franklin plans to make it all the way to the CFP championship game.
Even with the non-conference slate, the head coach doesn't want his team to think the win is already tallied on its record. Nevada, FIU, and Villanova should give the Nittany Lions a 3-0 start to the season, but just showing up isn't enough.
"The amount of film work and amount of extra work being put in, the energy around the building right now is electric," Wheatley said. "With the amount of veteran guys we got coming back and leadership we got going on, it kind of flows from freshmen to seniors. Everyone feels good right now."
If Penn State dwells on the past and lets the Big Game James narrative loom over the 2025-26 season, those big game wins won't manifest. The Nittany Lions from the coaching staff to players are already facing high expectations the entire country has for them.
Penn State opens its season at home on Aug. 30. Kick off against the Nevada Wolf Pack is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. The game can be watched on CBS.
"There’s a ton of conversations that are happening nationally. We embrace that. We’ve earned that based on what we’ve been able to do and what we’ve got coming back," Franklin said. "We were a game away from playing for the national championship, and you could actually make the argument a drive away from playing for the national championship, but it didn’t feel that way, right? Because the expectations at Penn State are really high. We embrace that."