Ohio State Legend Urban Meyer Gets Honest About Penn State

Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has the Buckeyes at the top of the college football mountain heading into the 2025 season. The teams he sees as closest to dethroning the 2024 national champions are their next opponent, the Texas Longhorns, and arguably the biggest Big Ten threat, the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Meyer made an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show recently and spoke highly of James Franklin’s program and its talented roster.

"Watch out for Penn State, man. If Drew Allar can really improve as a quarterback, I agree with you, I think they have the best backfield, I don't think it's close in the country," Meyer said. "They've got an offensive line that they can not wait to get on the field. So, yeah, I think Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State are the three most talented."

Penn State is coming off a 13-3 season, the most successful yet under Franklin in his 11 years leading the program. Their losses included a regular-season loss to Ohio State, the Big Ten Championship to Oregon, and the College Football Playoff Semifinal to Notre Dame. The one thing Penn State has over those three teams is that it returns its star quarterback in Drew Allar, whereas the other three will be debuting new faces at the position.

Allar is impressive, consistently mentioned in Heisman Trophy speculations and in first-round discussions for next year’s NFL Draft. While he lost his favorite weapon in tight end Tyler Warren to the league, Nick Singleton is back to flank him in the backfield, preserving the balance in Penn State’s offense.

Still, the Ohio State hurdle for Franklin and the Nittany Lions is real. Even in his most successful season last year, Penn State fell to the Buckeyes in Happy Valley 20-13. This year, the series returns to Columbus, where Franklin has yet to pick up a victory. The Buckeyes haven’t lost to Penn State at home since 2011.