Penn State Football 2025 Season Preview: Way-Too-Early Predictions, Odds & Schedule
In the wild west of modern college athletics, Penn State's consistent success across the James Franklin era would be the envy of all but a handful of schools nationwide - especially after a deep run in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Yet patience is wearing thin after losing "the big one" again, this time against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, as the Nittany Lions pin their hopes on returning senior QB Drew Allar to deliver them to the promised land for the first time in nearly 40 years.
We're breaking it all down in our Penn State football 2025 season preview with way-too-early predictions, odds, schedule, and transfer portal updates.
Penn State football title odds 2025
Live updated college football odds from our best college football betting sites.
We're still awaiting the opening odds for next year's college football championship odds, though it'd be surprising if Penn State isn't trading among the top 10 teams after narrowly coming up short in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
The Nittany Lions opened with +2200 odds entering last season, which ranked 10th nationally, and they rewarded bettors with a CFP berth before that loss to Notre Dame. That preempted a mass exodus of NFL talent set to leave the program.
Yet with Allar coming back for his final season at Penn State, it's championship-or-bust for Franklin ahead of a pivotal 12th season for the longtime head coach.
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2025 Penn State football offseason preview
Projected roster movement as of Friday, Jan. 10 and subject to change. All prospect rankings and positions courtesy of 247 Composite Recruit Rankings.
2025 Penn State football key returning players (projected)
- Drew Allar, QB
- Harrison Wallace, WR
- Liam Clifford, WR
- Omari Evans, WR
- Drew Shelton, LT
- Vega Ioane, LG
- Anthony Donkoh, RT
- Nolan Rucci, RT
- Dominic DeLuca, LB
- Tony Rojas, LB
- A.J. Harris, CB
- Zion Tracy, CB
- Zakee Wheatley, S
Allar isn't just the top returning talent for Penn State; he'll enter 2025 as one of the best quarterbacks in the country and a likely Heisman Trophy odds favorite. He should have a veteran offensive line to protect for him, though his supporting cast elsewhere is mostly unproven and should be filled out by the transfer portal.
On defense, the Nittany Lions are set to lose a wealth of NFL talent but do return rising stars in Tony Rojas and Zakee Wheatley, who ranked in the top five in tackles for this group last season. If any of the toss-up draft candidates follow Allar's lead and return for one last ride, this unit should be in good shape.
2025 Penn State football key losses, transfer portal updates
- Beau Pribula, QB (transfer portal)
- Kaytron Allen, RB (NFL draft)
- Nick Singleton, RB (NFL draft)
- Julian Fleming, WR (graduation)
- Jerry Cross, TE (transfer portal)
- Tyler Warren, TE (NFL draft)
- Nick Dawkins, C (graduation)
- Sal Wormley, RG (graduation)
- Abdul Carter, DE (NFL draft)
- Amin Vanover, DE (graduation)
- Dani Dennis-Sutton, DE (NFL draft)
- Dvon J-Thomas, DT (graduation)
- Zane Durant, DT (NFL draft)
- Kobe King, LB (NFL draft)
- Jalen Kimber, CB (NFL draft)
- Jaylen Reed, S (graduation)
- Kevin Winston Jr., S (NFL draft)
We'll have to wait to see which Nittany Lions test their 2025 NFL draft odds, though Abdul Carter has already declared and we can assume that Nick Singleton, Tyler Warren, and Kevin Winston Jr. will all be on their way out after sensational careers in Happy Valley.
For now, we'll also assume the likes of Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, Kobe King, and Jalen Kimber join them. If any of those players return, it would be a boon for a team that will surely be aggressive in adding talent in Allar's final year.
Penn State isn't expected to lose any key contributors to the transfer portal, though backup QB Beau Pribula, tight end Jerry Cross, and defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham are among those set to leave the program.
2025 Penn State football recruits, transfer commits
- Andrew Olesh, TE (No. 59 national, No. 1 PA)
- Daryus Dixson, CB (No. 116 national, No. 9 CA)
- Malachi Goodman, IOL (No. 121 national, No. 3 NJ)
- Jabree Wallace-Coleman, RB (No. 216 national, No. 5 PA)
- Jahmir Joseph, CB (No. 234 national, No. 4 NJ)
- Alex Tatsch, LB (No. 249 national, No. 7 PA)
- Devonte Ross, WR (Troy)
- Kyron Hudson, WR (USC)
- Enai White, DE (Texas A&M)
Penn State won't be lacking for incoming talent to replace its outgoing stars, as Franklin is set to ink a fourth consecutive top-15 recruiting class. Tight end Andrew Olesh - the top in-state prospect and third-best nationally at his position - could fill an immediate void in a Warren-like role for the Nittany Lions.
Franklin has already declared that his staff will be busy adding talent in the transfer portal, too. Former Texas A&M edge-rusher Enai White was a high school star in Pennsylvania and will help mitigate Carter's absence in the pass rush, while Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross should have immediate roles for an inexperienced receiver room.
2025 Penn State football schedule
Follow the latest college football scores along with our college football picks.
| Date | Opponent | Location | Last meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Aug. 30 | Nevada | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | Never |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | FIU | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | W, 59-0 (2007) |
| Saturday, Sept. 13 | Villanova^ | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | W, 38-17 (2021) |
| Saturday, Sept. 20 | Open | ||
| Saturday, Sept. 27 | Oregon* | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | L, 45-37 (2024) |
| Saturday, Oct. 4 | UCLA* | Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.) | W, 27-11 (2024) |
| Saturday, Oct. 11 | Northwestern* | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | W, 41-13 (2023) |
| Saturday, Oct. 18 | Iowa* | Kinnick Stadium (Iowa City, Iowa) | W, 31-0 (2023) |
| Saturday, Oct. 25 | Open | ||
| Saturday, Nov. 1 | Ohio State* | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) | L, 20-13 (2024) |
| Saturday, Nov. 8 | Indiana* | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | W, 33-24 (2024) |
| Saturday, Nov. 15 | Michigan State* | Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, Mich.) | W, 42-0 (2023) |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Nebraska* | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | L, 30-23 (2020) |
| Saturday, Nov. 29 | Rutgers* | SHI Stadium (Piscataway, N.J.) | W, 27-6 (2023) |
*Conference matchup | ^FCS opponent
After winning 11 games in the regular season to reach the Big Ten Championship, Penn State will face a tricky road ahead to get back to that point entering the 2025 season.
After a cupcake nonconference schedule, the Nittany Lions will open conference play against Oregon, which ousted them in the Big Ten title game last season. Road trips against UCLA and Iowa await before traveling to a hostile environment to face Ohio State, which has beaten Penn State in eight straight meetings since 2017.
Penn State football 2025 way-too-early prediction & expert analysis
It's hard to argue against Franklin's results, but clearly the Penn State faithful are ready for this program to make the leap to legitimate championship contender.
With Allar returning as one of the most talented QBs in the country, they just might be ready to do so. Maybe just as important was not losing offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to any open head-coaching jobs. With those two back - and possibly one of Singleton or Allen - as well as adding Hudson to the pass-catcher room, this offense should be one of the best in the country.
The defense is certainly the bigger question with Carter potentially going top five in the draft. The talent is there for the Nittany Lions to once again win double-digit games, but I wouldn't expect more than 10 wins with both Oregon and Ohio State on the schedule.
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