Joel Klatt defends Penn State as No. 1 team, believes they mirror past national champions

FOX’s Joel Klatt released his post-spring top 25 on Monday, giving Penn State the nod at No. 1. Ahead of the likes of Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, and Clemson — Klatt believes James Franklin has a special team heading into the 2025 season. And roster retention is a huge reason why.

The last two national champions also came from the Big Ten, Michigan and Ohio State. Klatt sees plenty of similarities between those two and what Penn State brings to the table this upcoming year. Veteran players will be all over the field with something to prove.

“They are following the blueprint of the teams that just won the national championship,” Klatt said. “This is why I am putting them in this spot. You look at what Michigan did in 2023, you look at what Ohio State did in 2024. Both of those teams had a core group of veteran players stay. They stayed and they won a championship.

“Both of those teams had veterans at quarterback, they had veterans on both sides of the ball, they were excellent on both lines of scrimmage, they had chips on their shoulders from the way they were bounced from the postseason in years prior. All of that is true about Penn State.”

No experienced player will be more important for Penn State than Drew Allar. Entering his third season as the program’s starting quarterback, Michigan and Ohio State had similar situations.

JJ McCarthy had spent plenty of time developing under Jim Harbaugh. Will Howard may have been in his first season with Ohio State but was a long-time starter at Kansas State. Allar will need to raise his level of play moving forward, specifically in the big-time showdowns.

Those types of games, in particular, have been what has kept Penn State back from winning on a national level. Franklin does not have a good record against Michigan or Ohio State, the Big Ten’s recent top class.

Klatt even mentioned losing to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. That came after beating teams everyone expected them to in the first round and quarterfinals with SMU and Boise State.

“Penn State has proven, really for a number of years, they will absolutely take care of business,” Klatt said. “They will beat the teams they should beat. What we haven’t seen from Penn State is them rise up and win the game that I would call a matchup game. When they’re looking across and the talent is equated and they even may be a bit of an underdog — can they win that game?”

A couple opportunities will come during the regular season. Penn State hosts Oregon early on for what could be the Big Ten’s game of the year. Ohio State then welcomes the Nittany Lions back to the Shoe, a series the Buckeyes have eight straight wins in.

Klatt believes this is finally the year Penn State can break through and get a massive victory. Still a lot of time from now to the fall but Klatt’s No. 1 spot belongs in Happy Valley.