Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Penn State RB Nicholas Singleton in action.

College Football

Hammerin’ the B1G: Penn State as Big Ten favorites in 2025? Not quite, but it’s close

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:


Penn State is still wrestling with the Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame, a game that was 100% winnable but squandered in the 4th quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinals. But while the 2024 season ended in disappointment, hope is already building for 2025.

That’s because the Nittany Lions now know they are getting some major pieces back for another year in Happy Valley. Sure, Penn State is losing do-it-all tight end and top-10 Heisman Trophy finisher Tyler Warren, who is out of eligibility, and game-wrecking pass rusher Abdul Carter is making the early jump to the NFL Draft. But outside of those 2 pieces, some difference-makers are returning.

Starting quarterback Drew Allar did not even wait until the Orange Bowl to announce that he was going to use another year with the program. Even for a polarizing figure and his costly interception vs. Notre Dame, that is a massive win for the Nittany Lions.

Be sure to use our favorite Ohio sports betting apps to track all the odds throughout the offseason as we prep for 2025!

I will not argue anyone who says Allar still needs to take another leap in his development, but the jump he made from Year 1 to Year 2 as the starter needs to be discussed.

Allar improved his completion percentage by 7 full points (from 59.9 to 66.5) with a big bump in his ratings and an increase in his yards per game. After 5 games completing less than 50% of his passes a year ago, he did not have a single game less than 51.3% this year, including 11 games of 64% or better.

Can Allar be that guy to go out and win games with his arm in 2025? Time will tell, but he deserves a fair shot to take that next leap.

Along with Allar,  Penn State learned on Monday that the program would get the Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen running back duo for another year. Both topped 1,000 yards rushing this season. Prior to that announcement, it felt unlikely both players would return.

With his improved work as a receiver, game-breaking speed and experience in kick returns, Singleton has a lot of the tools that NFL teams covet. Instead of leaving early, both players will be back to share the load again in 2025.

And just for good measure, the Penn State defense received a major boost with the announcement that edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton was returning. While Abdul Carter led the defense, Dennis-Sutton was Carter’s running mate with 13 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

Dennis-Sutton also came on impressively throughout the CFP run. He had a sack in all 3 games and was particularly disruptive in the final 2 games.

With Carter sidelined for much of the Fiesta Bowl, Dennis-Sutton delivered 2.5 TFL and a sack against Boise State. He kept things rolling with 2 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in a disruptive performance vs. Notre Dame.

So, should Penn State be the Big Ten favorite as we embark on 2025? Well …

Let’s even set aside the “Little Game James Franklin” narrative for the moment. (Though it should be noted that his CFP wins — including the top-10 victory — came against programs that are non-traditional powers.)

Penn State won’t be my favorite for 2025, but I do believe it’s closer than the Nittany Lions will get credit for. Just look at the usual suspects and you’ll see plenty of question marks in the B1G entering the offseason.

Oregon arrived in the league with a bang, running the table and going 13-0 with a Big Ten title to jumpstart Dan Lanning’s time in the B1G. That’s great until you consider the pieces the Ducks are losing to the NFL.

Starting QB Dillon Gabriel, leading rusher Jordan James, leading receiver Tez Johnson, starting TE Terrance Ferguson, star DE Jordan Burch and key linebacker Jeffrey Bassa are some of the pieces departing the program. The transfer portal is being mined to replenish some of the key losses, but we also have to especially investigate the QB dilemma.

By all accounts, Dante Moore appears poised to be the starting QB after spending his freshman season at UCLA and his sophomore season backing up Gabriel. That’s not a bad thing with the former 5-star prospect still possessing elite talent, but it is a question mark.

Moore, if he is the starter in Week 1, will be the least experienced QB of the Lanning tenure by a vast margin. Gabriel and Bo Nix, Lanning’s first Oregon QB, rank 1st and 2nd in college football history for career starts.

The growing pains with the offense will be evident in 2025. But even knowing that, I would still expect Oregon to be a better favorite than Penn State, and a lot of that does have to do with the comparison of Lanning to Franklin in big games.

Fortunately, we’ll get to see the Ducks vs. the Nittany Lions (in Happy Valley) in September.

Then there’s Ohio State. And the Buckeyes are certainly hoping to cap this season with a national title, but the question marks will be there on both sides of the ball entering 2025.

Admittedly, we will have to wait and see for some decisions out of Columbus after the title game, but we know starting QB Will Howard, star receiver Emeka Egbuka and star running back TreVeyon Henderson will be headed off to the NFL, along with some key offensive line pieces and some true stalwarts defensively.

Even with those departures, I don’t believe any team will trump Ohio State in the preseason odds — win or lose Monday night — entering 2025. The Buckeyes have shown they will spend top dollar in NIL funds to retain players and attract the transfer pieces they need.

Similar to Oregon, question marks at QB are significant, but the talent pool is also rich. That also doesn’t take into account if Ohio State opts to hit the portal for another veteran, ready-made starter before spring camp rolls around.

No matter who takes the first snap, the simple fact that Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are poised to lead the WR room eases a lot of concerns.

Based on what we currently know, those are the 3 programs likely to be the top contenders in the B1G as we hit 2025. And while I like Penn State’s  makeup — a lot — it’s a hard pass when it comes to the idea of the Nittany Lions as the favorite.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.