For the first time in James Franklin’s tenure at Penn State, the Nittany Lions were within one game of the national championship in 2024. While “Big Game James” fell short in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Notre Dame at the Orange Bowl, he’s already gotten some big offseason wins that should have the program back in the mix next season.
Even before the CFP, junior quarterback Drew Allar announced his intention to return to the program in 2025, and while junior defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, is heading to the NFL, much of Franklin’s loaded junior class is following their QB back to Happy Valley. In the days following the Orange Bowl loss, defensive lineman Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton and, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen all announced their return for their senior year in blue and white, making Penn State one of the early favorites to win next year’s national championship.
Penn State is currently listed at +850 to win the 2025-26 CFP national championship in the FanDuel Sportsbook, the fifth-best odds. Here’s how that top-five rounds out before a steep drop-off to Alabama at +1400
2025-26 CFP National Championship odds:
- Ohio State +450
- Texas +650
- Georgia +650
- Oregon +650
- Penn State +850
While the Nittany Lions have the fifth-best odds in the country, they are also third in their own conference, trailing Ohio State and Oregon. With Michigan landing five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood this offseason it may not be easy for Penn State to stay in that top three. If Underwood delivers on his promise as the top high school QB in the country in Year 1, the Wolverines could jump the Nittany Lions, but for Franklin’s sake, they better not.
Next season, even with Carter heading for the pros, is Penn State’s best chance to win a national championship since Franklin took over. The 2022 recruiting class was the best of his tenure and he hasn’t landed a top-10 high school class since. The drop-off could be stark once Allar, Durant, Dennis-Sutton, Singleton, and Allen are all out of eligibility, so 2025 could shape up to be a sort of “last dance” in Happy Valley.