Penn State Nittany Lions fell short of glory after Drew Allar & Co. were defeated by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. With a strong set of players and their starting quarterback returning for another run to the title, the program cannot be much better placed to win the championship next season.
Allar could have very well signed himself up for the NFL draft, but he decided to stay back, a decision shared by standout running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, along with defensive anchors Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant. With 15 returning starters from a program-best 13-win season, not a long could go wrong with Penn State in 2025. Recently, Allar made his feelings known on the prospects of doing better than what they accomplished last season.
“I know how much better I want to be as a player and leave my mark on Penn State and obviously accomplish the thing that we came close to last year but came up short in,” Allar said.
Penn State HC reveals feelings of last season's CFP semifinal loss
It's not only the quarterback who is motivated to run it back finally accomplished the thing they couldn't last season. Head coach James Franklin also wants to put behind the 27-20 loss against the Fighting Irish and enter the new season in high spirits.
“We were a few points and a few drives away from playing for the National Championship and people were pissed,” Franklin said. “That’s what you sign up for when you come to Penn State, and so those expectations are always really high.”
Apart from a strong returning core, Penn State has also signed Jim Knowles, who won with the Ohio State Buckeyes last season as the defensive coordinator.
Penn State opens its NCAA title hopeful 2025 campaign with home tilts against Nevada (Aug. 30), Florida International (Sept. 6) and Villanova (Sept. 13), before a marquee rematch with Oregon on Sept. 27. Down line, they'll face top teams like UCLA, Iowa, Ohio State and others.