David Pollack Reveals His 2025 Preseason Ranking for Penn State

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Matthew G. Audilet | Last updated Feb 3, 2025 8:52 PM ET

The Penn State Nittany Lions are reloading for another run at a national title after falling just short of their ultimate goal this past college football season.

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions played their way to the College Football Playoff semifinals in the first year of the expanded 12-team postseason field, ultimately falling to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a 27-24 final score in the Orange Bowl.

Penn State returns several key players in 2025, including quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. The program also retained offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and added now-former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

With that in mind, college football analyst David Pollack has the Nittany Lions listed as the No. 5 team in his 2025 preseason rankings.

"I went No. 5, Penn State. [Offensive coordinator Andy] Kotelnicki, back. Drew Allar, back. [Nick] Singleton, [Kaytron] Allen, back. Knowing Penn State, they'll get a receiver in the portal. They'll take care of business on that," Pollack explained. "... A lot of players back. I went Penn State at five."

Penn State looked dominant against lesser opponents throughout the 2024 college football season, but struggled to get the job done in big games. The Nittany Lions suffered three losses this past season, falling to Ohio State during the regular season, Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game and Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals.

Penn State will begin its 2025 regular-season campaign with a matchup against Nevada on Aug. 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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