Joel Klatt ranks Penn State football No. 1 in first top 10 for 2025 season

The 2024 college football season may have just concluded on Monday night, but it’s never too early to look ahead to next fall. Penn State football was closer to a title than any point during the James Franklin era this year, falling one win short of reaching the National Championship Game. Now in 2025, the Nittany Lions are set to return a cadre of the program’s biggest playmakers to finish what was started with this College Football Playoff Semifinal run.

Before the paint was even dry on Ohio State’s newest championship banner, one of the sport’s most notable personalities was already looking to Happy Valley as next in line. Releasing his way-too-early top 10 for 2025 on Thursday, FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt has Penn State picked as the No. 1 team in the country heading into next fall.

“There is a clear blueprint in college football that has been now established over the last two years. Everything runs in cycles, and right now, the cycle is about veteran, experienced players,” Klatt stated on his podcast, The Joel Klatt Show. “You got to have them, and it’s even more valuable when they come from your own program.

“When you can bring guys back to your program, and they know the drill, and they know the culture, and the culture of the team rests in those core players, you’ve got something special.”

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Despite falling short to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, Klatt believes the Nittany Lions are in the middle of a clear ascent to the top of college football.

“Penn State has gotten better every single year for the past three or four years, and James Franklin, their team man, they had every opportunity to win that game against Notre Dame,” Klatt said. “They are knocking on the door of a National Championship, and now they’re bringing all of those key pieces back to their team. This is the blueprint.”

WAY-TOO-EARLY TOP 10 IS HERE 🚨👀

Thoughts on @joelklatt's top 10 teams ahead of the 2025 season? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/zbZByEmLAo

— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) January 23, 2025

While Penn State lost some of its core talent – particularly on defense – to the NFL, far more of the program’s top pieces will be back in Beaver Stadium when the 2025 season kicks off against Nevada on August 30. So far, 14 Nittany Lions have announced their plans to return for next season.

“Drew Allar comes back. Nick Singleton comes back. Kaytron Allen comes back. Dani Dennis-Sutton comes back,” Klatt said. “You start getting those announcements, and I immediately thought to myself, ‘There’s your blueprint.’”

What do the Nittany Lions still need to prove?

© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Of course, offseason rankings are one thing. Proving things on the field is quite another. Even as his favorite looking ahead to next fall, Klatt acknowledges there’s still one key marker he needs to see from Penn State football.

“They still have to prove one thing to me, and they didn’t get a chance to prove that this year. Even in a run to the National Semifinal, they never beat a team that they were even with,” Klatt said. “That was their big chance against Notre Dame and they didn’t do it. They’ve got to get over that hump.

“That’s going to be the tipping point for James Franklin, and Penn State is getting over that hump of beating someone that they maybe ‘shouldn’t’ or that they’re on equal footing with. And if they do that, then watch out.”

There will be ample opportunity for the Nittany Lions to do that next fall. Penn State football welcomes Oregon to Happy Valley to close out the month of September. The Nittany Lions will travel to Columbus for a showdown with the reigning National Champions to kick off November.

2025 Penn State football schedule:

• Week 1 (August 30): vs. Nevada
• Week 2 (September 6): vs. FIU
• Week 3 (September 13): vs. Villanova
• Week 4 (September 20): BYE
• Week 5 (September 27): vs. Oregon
• Week 6 (October 4): at UCLA
• Week 7 (October 11): vs. Northwestern
• Week 8 (October 18): at Iowa
• Week 9 (October 25): BYE
• Week 10 (November 1): at Ohio State
• Week 11 (November 8): vs. Indiana
• Week 12 (November 15): at Michigan State
• Week 13 (November 22): vs. Nebraska
• Week 14 (November 29): at Rutgers

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