Penn State football was the No. 2 team in the country in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll. The Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) had everything they needed. They had 14 returning starters, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles fresh out of Ohio State's national championship season, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki completing that dominant coordinator duo, and head coach James Franklin entering year 12 with everything to prove and everything to lose.
The blue and white were a favorite to hoist the College Football Playoff trophy at the end of the season. If it was any team's season on paper, it was Penn State's.
So, what happened? Did the Nittany Lions get too ahead of themselves? Did problems from 2024 carry into 2025? Was the hype always blown out of proportion?
It was a combination of everything. Anything that could've went wrong did. Let's take a look at every misstep that took Penn State from the national championship favorite to the biggest college football crisis in just six games.
Penn State's non-conference slate foreshadowed its unpreparedness for the rest of the season
After the first three weeks, the Nittany Lions were already underwhelming. There were no glaring issues from Week 1's game against Nevada. Penn State scored on each offensive drive and the defense was ramping up to its upcoming shutout in Week 2. The wide receivers looked like what Franklin said they would be. It was a promising appetizer to what ended up being an undercooked main course.
Florida International revealed exactly what Kotelnicki's offense was (or wasn't) capable of. Quarterback Drew Allar was sluggish and had just a 57.6 completion percentage. This was a massive drop from his nearly 85 percent he threw for the week prior. At no point did the offense truly look awake and ready to play. The Nittany Lions let the defense maintain the national championship picture they painted in the preseason.
There's no way Penn State allows a lackluster performance to carry into Week 3 when its playing an FCS team, right? Wrong. Allar had an even lower completion rate (55.2 percent) and threw his first interception of the season. The offense couldn't convert on third down and Franklin admitted there were still mistakes that needed correcting; but there were no more non-conference cupcake teams left on the schedule.
It was a championship or bust year for the Nittany Lions. After Week 2, it was evident which way the season was heading. No one wanted to admit it. People were still holding onto hope, grasping at straws. Penn State had to be hiding its true 2025 identity, saving it for a big game to shine.
Week 5 was a reminder of everything Penn State is and everything it is not
Penn State's White Out game against Oregon ended in Nittany Lion fashion: Drew Allar got picked off. In double overtime, it was the worst case of déjà vu.
It revealed that the same problems from 2024 were not addressed properly. It was a big moment in a big game. Questions of if Franklin and Allar can handle the pressure always loomed, and all it took was their first Big Ten opponent to provide the answers. Luckily for Franklin, though, that wasn't his game to lose. That was on Kotelnicki and Allar. Still, that's against Oregon. It's not like they lost to an unranked, winless team, right?
One loss exploited the Nittany Lions' mental weakness and they had to accept they weren't invincible
"On-paper" doesn't win national championships. Penn State was slapped in the face with the hard truth that just because it has everything, doesn't mean it's always going to win. That was obviously a tough pill to swallow because all the Nittany Lions did was let the past infiltrate the present and let one loss turn into three.
Losing to the Ducks wasn't a tragedy, it was just a disappointment. If Penn State sat back and reflected, it still had all the tools and resources to pick itself back up. It's not like it suddenly went from having some of the best personnel in the country to having none. One loss shouldn't have defined the season, but it did.
During practice before going on the road to UCLA, feet dragged and energy was low. It was exactly how not to handle a loss — a loss that realistically could've gone either way.
The Nittany Lions allow a winless team to upset them
Week 6 was a chance to shake off that White Out loss and get right back on track. Everything was lined up perfectly to use UCLA as a rebound. It was an unranked, winless team. The Nittany Lions needed to show up with a clean game plan, execute, secure their first Big Ten win, and return to Happy Valley with their heads held high.
An easy task. Unless you're Penn State.
By this point, the issues on offense were evident and already started clearing up. Against the Bruins, it was the defense that was exploited. One injury blew Knowles' system up right in his face. UCLA's offense walked all over the defense and outsmarted the Nittany Lions.
To make matters worse, Kotelnicki deflated all confidence in his quarterback. Allar played his second best game of the season and was arguably the best player out there. He wasn't incredible, but he never is. He had a solid run game and was decent in the pass game. In critical, make-or-break moments, Kotelnicki instilled a fear in Allar. He was terrified of throwing an interception, Kotelnicki called run plays in times it was obvious Allar should pass. Allar felt that lack of confidence from his coaches and, in return, lost confidence in himself.
James Franklin loses the locker room
Low energy after losing to Oregon persisted after losing to UCLA. Players attempted pushing each other to a new level competitively, but there was a lack of unity. They didn't know who they were anymore. The "1-0" mentality the coaching staff emphasized means nothing if the team has no idea who it is. It was all words, no action.
James Franklin hasn't given up on the locker room, but has the locker room given up on him?
Allar rallied behind his head coach after Week 6, but frustration and disappointment lingered throughout the locker room. Franklin lost his team after Week 5, and that was solidified after losing to Northwestern. Players had no strong feelings in postgame media about fans calling for Franklin's job and they didn't seem pleased to interact with their head coach after the game.
Drew Allar gets injured in Week 7 against Northwestern
Allar's NCAA career ended in heartbreaking fashion. Late in the fourth quarter, he took his final snap. Scrambling forward hoping to convert on third down, Allar was tackled and sustained a lower leg, ankle injury. He grabbed his left leg, wincing in pain and was eventually carted off the field. Franklin announced afterward that Allar's season is over.
Adding insult to injury, Penn State gets season-ending player news
The coaching staff failed its quarterback.
When he makes consistent mistakes game-to-game, season-to-season, it's not just Allar at fault. He spent all day in the Lasch Building, was dedicated to his team and its goals, and the road to his greatness remains unchartered territory. Again, he was never going to be a breathtaking star under center, but he had much more in him than the coaches pulled out. A five-star quarterback doesn't waltz in as the next best thing. The coaches mold him into that.
Allar was never a No. 1 overall pick. With the right coaching and training, he could have been a serious early first-round contender. He came to Happy Valley presented as Penn State's savior. He left with potential still unlocked. He's to blame for many things, but if the coaching staff didn't fail him, would those things have happened? Out of all the Nittany Lions, Allar is going to be the biggest case of "what if."
Drew Allar should have left Penn State while he was hot (well, warm)
Penn State waves goodbye to James Franklin after three-game losing streak
Halfway through the season and three losses later, the Nittany Lions called it quits on Franklin. He was fired on Sunday, the day after the wildcats upset them, and it was announced that Terry Smith will step in as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Penn State fires James Franklin in stunning move that needed to happen
Franklin's buyout was huge, but it was a move that needed to happen. Systematically, no significant, positive changes were made. Looking back at the preseason, Penn State was the best team in the country. It should have stayed that way, but the Nittany Lions couldn't get out of their own way. Franklin couldn't get his team to play like champions every week. He let his team slide by in the non-conference slate and crumble in the face of disappointment.
Commits drop like flies and puts the future of the program in danger
Penn State class of 2027 commits made their decisions quick after Franklin was fired. No. 1 running back Kemon Spell was already toying with the idea of de-committing in light of the Nittany Lions' struggles, then made it official on Sunday. Four-star linebacker Gabriel Jenkins immediately de-committed after the news as well.
Nation's No. 1 RB decommits from Penn State and it's all on James Franklin
Penn State immediately loses elite LB commit after firing James Franklin
The question now is: Is a turnaround even possible or is Penn State too far gone to capitalize on all the good 2025 was supposed to be?
Six games in, it seems like the Nittany Lions that came back with unfinished business should have left proud that they helped progress the program in the right direction, even if it meant not winning a national title. It's clear that wasn't happening either way.