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ESPN Analyst Predicts College Football's 2025 National Champion

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Jan 28, 2025 5:03 PM ET

ESPN has college football's national title staying in the Big Ten next season.

Michigan and Ohio State have given the conference back-to-back national champions. ESPN's Bill Connelly predicted a new winner emerging from the Big Ten.

The analyst projected the 2025 College Football Playoff to the finish. Connelly has No. 1 Georgia playing No. 2 Penn State for the title next January.

Connelly picked the Nittany Lions to capture their first national title since 1986. Hiring a member of Ryan Day's Buckeyes staff will help their efforts to finally get over the hump.

"Hey, if Will Howard can win a national title, so can Drew Allar," Connelly wrote. "Especially with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in Penn State's corner."

Ohio State fans won't like Connelly's picks. He has Michigan defeating the Buckeyes for the fifth straight time in November and again in a marquee first-round CFP matchup.

Penn State would defeat Michigan for the Big Ten title and a first-round bye. Meanwhile, Connelly has Georgia winning the SEC crown despite losing quarterback Carson Beck in the transfer portal.

ESPN will hope some of Connelly's proposed matchups come to fruition. He forecasts Bill Belichick, who spent the 2024 season hanging out with Peyton and Eli Manning, leading North Carolina into a first-round CFP matchup against Arch Manning's Texas Longhorns.

Connelly also predicted Georgia defeating Michigan and Penn State topping Notre Dame in an Orange Bowl rematch during the quarterfinals. Penn State would advance to the National Championship Game by beating Utah, and Georgia would take down SEC rival Alabama in the semifinals.

Penn State has won at least 10 games in each of the last three seasons, but James Franklin's program has struggled to take down top-ranked opponents. The Nittany Lions lost to the Buckeyes last season and fell short against Oregon for the Big Ten title before dominating SMU and Boise State in the CFP.

Yet Penn State should enter the 2025 season as a prominent contender with Allar returning for his fourth year. Star running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen also forged the NFL Draft to return to school.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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