Where is Penn State in Ari Wasserman's post-spring top 25?
Penn State sits at the top of yet another post-spring top 25. This time, On3 national college football reporter Ari Wasserman has the Nittany Lions at No. 1 following a successful 15 practices and two key wins in the spring transfer portal window.
“This isn’t the super-team era anymore,” Wasserman writes. “With that in mind, look at what Penn State is bringing back from a team that was a drive away from going to the national title game last season. They have a quarterback in Drew Allar who may be a top-5 pick in the NFL Draft next year, the best running back duo in the country in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, along with one of the best edge rushers in Dani Dennis-Sutton. Oh, and Penn State addressed its receiver problem by picking up Kyron Hudson (USC), Devonte Ross (Troy) and, most recently, Trebor Pena (Syracuse) in the portal. Why shouldn’t Penn State be No. 1?”
He’s not alone in asking that question. FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt and Mark Schlabach of ESPN also put Penn State atop the May version of their early top 25s. For Wasserman, the Lions lead the way with Texas, Clemson, Ohio State, and LSU rounding out the top five. The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes meet on Nov. 1 in Columbus.
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“Ohio State had perhaps the last super roster of this era in college football last year,” Wasserman writes on head coach Ryan Day’s team. “The Buckeyes lost a ton of talent after capturing the national title, evident in the 14 players selected in the NFL Draft. Yet, Ohio State still has the best offensive player (wide receiver Jeremiah Smith) and defensive player (safety Caleb Downs) in the country. Ohio State may be closer in talent to the other good teams this year, but the Buckeyes will unequivocally be in the College Football Playoff hunt yet again in 2025.”
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The only other 2025 Penn State regular season opponent inside of Wasserman’s May top 25 is Oregon. The Ducks, who come to Beaver Stadium in late September, check in at No. 9.
“The way Oregon’s season ended last year has left a bitter taste in peoples’ mouths as it pertains to analyzing them, but don’t read too much into what happened against Ohio State,” Wasserman writes. “The Ducks did lose a lot of talent after last year, but they have been recruiting like gangbusters and brought in some big-time transfers like running back Makhi Hughes (Tulane), offensive guard Emmanuel Pregnon (USC) and safety Dillon Thieneman (Purdue). Oregon is going to be very good again this season.”
