Penn State Football Preview 2025: Nittany Lions Season Prediction, Win Total Projection, Top Players
Don't get totally hung up on the big downfield pass plays (but still keep pushing it deep).Yeah, it was what everyone was screaming about two years ago - Penn State didn't do much of anything down the field, no one respected the big play, and the safeties crept up and made all the short plays. Last year's team fixed the glitch and started cranking it up more, and it worked.Penn State was 9-0 when averaging more than 7.1 yards per attempt. However, with one of the nation's best ground games and a defense that should be among the best in America again, just keep things moving.The Nittany Lions were 11-0 when Drew Allar completed more than 62% of his passes, and 2-3 when he didn't. Over the last two years, the team is 18-0 when he hits that mark.
X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN2025 Penn State PreviewPenn State Offense BreakdownPenn State Defense Breakdown
Penn State Nittany Lions Key Player
Zuriah Fisher, DE Sr.The Nittany Lions generate pressure from all over the place, and it's not fair to hope for anyone to be the "next" anything, especially Abdul Carter, but after missing last season hurt, and making 17 tackles with 3.5 sacks two years ago, now it's Fisher's time to shine.Everyone will be focusing on stopping Dani Dennis-Sutton on one side. If Fisher can be a regular in the backfield, look out.
Penn State Nittany Lions Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: Amare Campbell, LB Jr.How good do you have to be to step off the street and into the middle gig at Linebacker U.?Campbell showed promise as a freshman at North Carolina, and then he turned it on last season with 76 tackles with 6.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and two broken up passes. Be stunned if he's not the team's leading tackler.
Top Transfer Out: Harrison Wallace III, WR Sr.Penn State ended up ahead in the transfer portal game, especially at wide receiver, but Wallace is a strong, reliable veteran who caught 84 passes for 1,221 yards and six touchdowns over the last three seasons for the Nittany Lions. The talent is there to do that in one year in the Ole Miss offense.
Penn State Nittany Lions Key Game
Oregon, Sept. 27The date at Ohio State on November 1st is massive, but that might not matter if the Nittany Lions take care of Oregon in the Big Ten opener. There might be dangerous landmines to sidestep in November, and going to Iowa is scary, but beat the Ducks and avenge last year's Big Ten Championship, and start booking tickets for the College Football Playoff. Lose, and there will be plenty of sweating.- 2025 Penn State Schedule Breakdown
Penn State Nittany Lions Top 10 Players
1. Nicholas Singleton, RB Sr.2. Drew Allar, QB Sr.3. Dani Dennis-Sutton, DE Sr.4. Olaivavega Ioane, OG Jr.5. Trebor Pena, WR Sr.6. AJ Harris, CB Jr.7. Amare Campbell, LB Jr.8. Zane Durant, DT Sr9. Zakee Wheatley, S Sr.10. Drew Shelton, OT Sr.
Penn State Nittany Lions 2024 Fun Stats
- Rushing Yards: Penn State 3,237, Opponents 1,629- Sacks: Penn State 44 for 302 yards, Opponents 20 for 142 yards- 3rd Quarter Scoring: Penn State 107, Opponents 39
Penn State Nittany Lions 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
The schedule is just cooperative enough to get Penn State back into the College Football Playoff.Of course, the goal is to win the Big Ten Championship after getting there last season - and losing to Oregon - but if that doesn't happen, a team this good should be able to get to ten wins.
Let's just say Penn State isn't exactly pushing the envelope when it comes to the non-conference games. FIU, Nevada, and Villanova are wonderful light scrimmages coming before a week off to prepare for a home game against Oregon.Meanwhile, Ohio State is starting the season against Texas.
The Nittany Lions have to go to Columbus to deal with the Buckeyes, but the rest of the road games are Iowa, Michigan State, Rutgers, and UCLA. That's more than fine.It would've been nice to get Purdue on the slate, but missing Michigan, Illinois, USC, Minnesota, Washington, and Washington makes up for it.There will be a stumble, but there won't be three.Set The Penn State Win Total At … 10.5Likely Wins: FIU, Nebraska, Nevada, Northwestern, Villanova50/50 Games: Indiana, at Iowa, at Michigan State, Oregon, at Rutgers, at UCLALikely Losses: at Ohio State 2025 Penn State PreviewPenn State Offense BreakdownPenn State Defense Breakdown
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