With the 2024 college football season now officially closed, it’s time fans, analysts, players, and programs start thinking about making moves for the next year. Naturally, “way-too-early” rankings follow.
This year, Fox analyst Joel Klatt’s way too early top 10 for 2025, there is one particularly interesting ranking that sits atop the top of the list.
This list includes powerhouse college football names like Georgia and Michigan. Among the top three are teams like Texas, which is striving right now, and the defending national champion, Ohio State.
However, at the top of the list is Penn State.
Klatt even justified this pick by saying that the Nittany Lions are “knocking on the door of a national championship.”
Penn State is becoming a trendy pick to, at the very least, make a deep playoff run in the 2025 season, especially after the move to hire former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to be its new defensive coordinator.
However, I’m not quite there yet.
The Nittany Lions made it to the semifinals of the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024, which was very impressive. However, Penn State lost to both Ohio State and Oregon, both major conference foes, during the 2024 regular season.
After its semifinal loss to Notre Dame, Penn State also lost nine players to the NFL draft, including its best overall player, Abdul Carter, and its best offensive player and pass catcher, Tyler Warren. Also, after that loss, Penn State lost both of its best wide receivers, Omari Evans and Harrison Wallace III, to the transfer portal.
All of those things are concerning, but there is no bigger reason behind the Nittany Lions being listed as the best team in the nation than their head coach, James Franklin.
Franklin has a career record of 4-16 against Penn State’s two biggest conference rivals, Ohio State and Michigan, he also has just a 4-19 record when playing a top-five team in the nation.
To win a title, you’ll probably have to beat at least one of Ohio State or Michigan, and you’ll definitely have to beat some top-five teams along the way.
Penn State is great, and its coaching staff just got a lot better. There is a lot of hope for the 2025 season. But let’s pump the brakes on calling the Nittany Lions the best team in the nation for now.
Penn State could very well win the national championship next year, but when a team loses nine players to the NFL draft and each of its best two wideouts to the transfer portal, it’s going to take a lot for me to believe it without seeing the replacements.
Oh, and don’t forget, Franklin still has to prove that he can win a big game before he deserves to be projected as the best team in the nation.
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