There is no denying that Penn State is preparing for one of the more anticipated seasons in program history after making a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. The bar has been raised by many for the Nittany Lions, and the hype train continues to be roaring at full steam heading into the 2025 season. That hype continued to rise with the Nittany Lions landing on top of the Big Ten preseason power rankings from USA TODAY Sports college football writer Paul Myerberg.
Yes, Penn State comes out ahead of the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes and the defending Big Ten champion Oregon Ducks, respectively. That has been the fairly common belief by those around the college football media circles this offseason in part due to a roster returning many key players on each side of the ball, despite losing first-round draft picks in Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren, and adding key transfers to help plug the void at the wide receiver position. The addition of Trebor Pena from Syracuse is considered a major upgrade for an offense that already added a pair of other talented wide receivers in the offseason.
Penn State’s rise to the top of the Big Ten power rankings is focused largely on the expectations for the offense. The return of Drew Allar at quarterback and both star running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen gives Penn State as solid a returning backfield as we may see this season in all of college football.
Penn State’s schedule is also moderately favorable, with the biggest challenge coming with a road trip to Ohio State and getting Oregon at home for a primetime whiteout game highlighting the home schedule.
According to the power rankings from Myerberg, Penn State will face five of the Big Ten’s top-10 teams this season. Three of those games will come at home (Oregon, Indiana, and Nebraska), and the other two will be on the road (at Ohio State and at Iowa).
You can see the full Big Ten power rankings from Myerberg via USA TODAY Sports to see how the whole conference looks in 2025.
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