The Athletic's Stewart Mandel is a preseason Penn State believer, placing the Nittany Lions atop his too-early top 25 for 2025. "I'm skeptical they can actually pull it off," Mandel writes, "but on paper, James Franklin's team deserves that status given how many players are returning."

The second is, technically, an opinion -- one shared by everyone on ESPN's committee selecting the top 100 players of the 2024-25 season -- but it'd be tough to come up with a compelling argument for someone else.

The Buckeyes are No. 1 after their national championship win, but which team is between them and runner-up Notre Dame?

James Franklin, Pat Narduzzi, Mike Locksley and other coaches had different rankings for Penn State in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Penn State's historic 2024-25 season comes to an official close with the final US LBM Coaches Poll. See how James Franklin voted.

Before the Orange Bowl kicked off, Penn State head coach James Franklin made headlines when he called out Notre Dame for not playing in a conference. Franklin