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4 days ago
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Nittany Lions are sitting pretty months before college football season begins as they are among top predicted playoff teams.
For Penn State Nittany Lions football fans, seeing a sweet early prediction for their team probably makes them feel pretty good. Head coach James Franklin, who has been leading Penn State since 2014, has made some tweaks to his coaching staff.
Still, college football observers will find Penn State among the top five teams in ESPN's College Football Power Index. The list was released by ESPN on Tuesday, putting SEC powerhouses the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. The Ohio State Buckeyes are at third and the Alabama Crimson Tide sit at No. 4.
How did these rankings come to fruition? According to ESPN, the FPI is a predictive rating system that estimates each FBS team's strength (in points per game relative to the national average) on offense, defense and special teams, making adjustments for starters lost, recruiting talent and other personnel changes.
Quarterback Drew Allar will be looked upon to carry the Penn State offense this season
This data also gets plugged into each team's schedule. Then, all of the data is reportedly simulated 20,000 times to track each team's odds of winning its conference, making the playoff and advancing through to the national title.
Quarterback Drew Allar, who threw for 2,631 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, will be looked upon to get even better. Allar's completion percentage wasn't so hot, leaving the senior starter with room for improvement.
Running back Nick Singleton wants to make his mark on the college football world. Singleton will look to pile up more yards from his position. Keep your eyes on wide receiver Donte Nastasi, too. The Nittany Lions are pretty stout on defense, too, with cornerback AJ Harris and defensive end Dani-Dennis Sutton.
Penn State will have its work cut out for them this season. Fans are already circling a Week 5 matchup against the Oregon Ducks on their schedule. Penn State kicks off its season with an Aug. 30 home game against Nevada. It then faces Florida International and Villanova before the nationally-televised showdown with the Ducks.
Penn State finished 13-3 last season, 8-1 in Big Ten Conference play. It finished its 2024 season on a winning note, beating Boise State 31-14 in the Fiesta Bowl.
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