The Penn State Nittany Lions finished with an 11-1 record during the 2024 college football season in the regular season. Penn State lost to the Oregon Ducks in the BIG10 Championship Game.

Despite that, the Nittany Lions won two postseason games against the SMU Mustangs and the Boise State Broncos, before losing on a last second field goal to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the college football playoffs semifinals. Penn State took a positive step toward reaching its ultimate goal of winning a national title last season, even though they fell short. What’s going for them in 2025 is the return of head coach James Franklin and quarterback Drew Allar.
College Football Fans Livid Of Penn State Nittany Lions Coaches Poll Ranking Entering 2025 College Football Season

With college football not so far away, the coaches poll for the preseason dropped. At number one was the Texas Longhorns and number two was the Ohio State Buckeyes. Penn State was ranked number three in the coaches poll. To round out the Top 5, the Georgia Bulldogs were ranked fourth and the Fighting Irish were ranked fifth.
Well, when On3 posted this on Twitter, there were a lot of college football fans who were outraged about Penn State being ranked third. Well, they were one of the final four teams in college football in the playoffs last year. This is what some fans had to say about the Nittany Lions being ranked third:
What kind of blackmail does James Franklin have on these coaches
— Prof. Suckmai Balzack (@SuckmaiBalzack) August 4, 2025
Penn State top 5 again? pic.twitter.com/KhDSMKH2Hg
— Squawk Talk (@SquawkTalk55) August 4, 2025
Lol. Penn State ranked so high then get pants’d when they play the real Big 10 schools 😂
— The Goal Line Grind (@theGLgrind) August 4, 2025
Putting Penn St at 3 while James Franklin is still your head coach is the definition of insanity
— OzempicOrangie (@OzempicOrangie) August 4, 2025
Sure hope Ped State gets through the first 3 weeks pic.twitter.com/n0EqMerBYC
— Brooks (@Brookss6969) August 4, 2025
There is no doubt that there are a lot of haters out there for the Nittany Lions. The truth is that the Nittany Lions can very well end up in the BIG10 championship game again this season. Penn State’s toughest games will be against Ohio State, the Oregon Ducks, and the Indiana Hoosiers. It would be a shock if the Nittany Lions missed the playoffs altogether.
They have a lot of talent on the roster and will be one of the favorites to win the national title in 2025. This football program could be the third different BIG10 team in three seasons to win a national title. Ohio State won it all last season, and the Michigan Wolverines won it all the season before. If Penn State is going to finally win a national title, they are going to need to finally beat Ryan Day and the Buckeyes later in the season.
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