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Penn State

Phil Steele explains why he named Penn State his top-ranked team, national champions

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs07/31/25grant_grubbs_
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Penn State head caoch James Franklin (Photo credit: Steve Manuel/BWI)

College football expert Phil Steele is pushing in all his chips on Penn State. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday, Steele explained why he believes the Nittany Lions will win it all in the 2025 campaign.

“Penn State is a team like Ohio State last year, like Michigan the year before,” Steele said. “They had a lot of players turn down the NFL; only five players lost. They’ve got Drew Allar back at quarterback, my No. 1 rated running back core in the country, and No. 1 rated offensive line. Their weakness was at wide receiver. They added in Kyron Hudson from USC, Trebor Pena from Syracuse, Devonte Ross from Troy.

“Defensively, they’re absolutely loaded with NFL guys, one of the top defenses in the country. They do have to play Ohio State on the road during the season. Win or lose that, I think that they get to the Big Ten title game, and I’ve got Penn State winning it all this year for the first time in 31 years of the magazine.”

Penn State is oozing talent this year. After falling in the College Football Playoff semifinals last season, many of the Nittany Lions opted to run it back in Happy Valley. In total, Penn State is returning 14 starters from last season, including nine on offense.

As Steele mentioned, Penn State is, most notably, bringing back its running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. The pair formed arguably the best 1-2 backfield punch in the country last season, each amassing over 1,000 rushing yards.

While Penn State isn’t returning nearly as much talent on defense, it made a statement this offseason by hiring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Knowles was Ohio State’s DC last season and was instrumental in the Buckeyes’ run to a national title.

For reference, Ohio State’s defense only allowed 254.6 yards per game last season, the least in the country. Now, Knowles will look to help Penn State have similar success. Evidently, Phil Steele believes Knowles will be successful in his mission.

Alas, history isn’t necessarily on Penn State’s side. The Nittany Lions haven’t won the Big Ten title since 2016, when Saquon Barkley anchored the backfield. Worse, the program hasn’t won the national title since 1986.

Penn State will begin its 2025 campaign with a showdown against Nevada at 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 30. The game will air live on CBS.