The Penn State Nittany Lions have a deep, rich history in college football, but the historic university hasn't been able to make it back to the top in 39 years.
Penn State has put together tons of wins and regular season success over the last nearly four decades, but haven't returned to the glory days since the Nittany Lions upset Miami in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl.
Since then, 19 other programs have won a national championship. However, Penn State has finished as a Top 15 team in the country in seven of the last nine seasons, and made its first College Football Playoff last year.
2025 Could Be Penn State's Year
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde revealed his national championship pick for the 2025 season and he's backing the Nittany Lions.
Although Penn State might be an apprehensive pick with its inability to win big games in the James Franklin era, the Nittany Lions look like the right national champion pick on paper.
Franklin stole new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State, he returns his senior Heisman candidate quarterback Drew Allar, and the two-headed monster of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen in the backfield.
The Nittany Lions added two transfer receivers in Trebor Pena (Syracuse) and Kyron Hudson (USC), who should lead the most talented receiver group Allar has had, and there's a lot of inexperience among other contenders.
"Texas is turning to a relatively inexperienced quarterback, no matter what his last name is. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Alabama have completely untested starting QBs," Forde wrote. "Georgia has a major question mark at that position. Clemson, like Penn State, has a third-year starter at QB who still has to make progress."
Penn State has had a competitive roster for the last decade, but this season it may be the the most talented in the country. It's up to Franklin and Co. to finish the job.
I'm staying steadfast in my prediction that the Penn State Nittany Lions will earn a glorious 16-0 record this fall. Penn State is college football's best team, and I explain why in the video below. In summary, they are stacked with talent and have CFB's best coordinator duo. pic.twitter.com/exnaNgEDKJ
— College Football with Sam (@CFBwSam) August 14, 2025
Franklin is 22-5 over the last three seasons against Big Ten opponents, which is a better winning percentage then even Joe Paterno ever had over a similar stretch. However, The Nittany Lions' coach is 4-20 against Top 10 opponents and 1-10 against Ohio State.
Fans will forget the 22 wins very quickly if you can't beat the scarlet-and-gray or win the big games, and that's exactly what Franklin has earned the reputation of.
However, just as Ryan Day turned his narrative around last year after Ohio State won the national championship, all will be forgiven if Franklin can follow suit in 2025.
After all, it may be Penn State's best opportunity yet under Franklin.