August 11, 2025
Keith Srakocic/AP
Penn State football coach James Franklin's team is No. 2 in the AP preseason top 25.
Penn State is the No. 2-ranked college football team, according to The Associated Press' preseason Top-25 poll, released on Monday.
The Nittany Lions, who lost to runner-up Notre Dame last year in the college football playoff semifinals, earned 23 first-place votes – two shy of the preseason No. 1 Texas Longhorns, who lost in the semis last year to Ohio State, which went on to win the title by defeating Notre Dame.
Texas finished with 1,552 points while Penn State came in with 1,547. The Longhorns open their season against Ohio State, which earned 11 first-place vote to finish third but finished 75 points behind Penn State in the ranking.
Penn State and Ohio State will square off on Nov. 1 in a major Big Ten Conference showdown. The Buckeyes have won the last eight games over the Nittany Lions.
Penn State brings back several starters from an offense that averaged just over 33 points last season, including quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and several offensive linemen.
They also scored a major coup in the offseason, prying defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from Ohio State for the same post at Penn State after the Nittany Lions lost defensive coordinator Tom Allen to the same position as Clemson.
Rounding out the top 10 of the AP's preseason top 25 are fourth-ranked Clemson and fifth-ranked Georgia, with Notre Dame ranking sixth, Oregon seventh, Alabama eighth, LSU ninth and Miami at 10.
Knowles, a Philadelphia native and St. Joseph’s Prep alum, had spent three seasons presiding over Ohio State’s defense, which ranked first nationally last season in total defense and scoring defense en route to a national title.
Earlier this offseason, Penn State was ranked No. 1 in an ESPN preseason poll.
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