Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the preseason USA Today Coaches’ college football poll released on Monday — its highest start to the season since 1999, when it was also ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press’ preseason poll.
Heading into the 2025 season, Texas is ranked No. 1 and defending national champion Ohio State is No. 2, followed by Penn State, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 Clemson and No. 7 Oregon.
Penn State received 14 first-place votes, while Texas had 28 and Ohio State 20. Georgia had 3 and Clemson had 2.
Penn State plays Oregon on Sept. 27 in a Beaver Stadium White Out and then faces the Buckeyes at The Horseshoe on Nov. 1. The only other preseason top 25 team Penn State plays in 2025 is No. 19 Indiana on Nov. 8 in Beaver Stadium. Other Big Ten teams in the preseason top 25 are Illinois (12) and Michigan (14).
Penn State’s highest-ever ranking in a preseason poll is No. 1, when Associated Press voters had the Nittany Lions as the top-ranked team to start the 1997 season. The last time the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 1 at all was Oct. 18, 1997 — the day they beat, 16-15, unranked Minnesota in Beaver Stadium, but due to the narrow victory, they dropped to No. 2. Penn State finished 1997 with a 9-3 record and ranked No. 17 in the final Coaches’ poll.
The Nittany Lions were also ranked No. 3 in the AP preseason poll in 1978 — finishing third in the final poll after climbing to No. 1, then losing to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl — and in 1969, finishing No. 3 in the final poll despite going 11-0.
FRANKLIN HAS A VOTE
Under head coach James Franklin, Penn State’s previous highest preseason ranking was No. 6 in the 2017 AP poll. Penn State’s polling high-water mark in Franklin’s first 11 seasons at Penn State came in the 2017 regular season, when the Nittany Lions were No. 2 in The Associated Press poll for two weeks.
On Saturday, at Penn State’s media day, Franklin said he gives little credence to preseason rankings: “No one cares about preseason rankings. Like, I’m not going to frame the preseason rankings and put it in my basement in the man cave. No one cares. No one cares.”
Ironically, Franklin has a vote in the Coaches’ poll. He is one of nine Big Ten head coaches with a vote. Among them are Penn State’s 2025 opponents Northwestern (David Braun), Indiana (Curt Cignetti), Ohio State (Ryan Day), Oregon (Dan Lanning) and Nebraska (Matt Rhule). Other Big Ten head coaches with a vote are Luke Fickell (Wisconsin), Jedd Fisch (Washington) and Mike Locksley (Maryland).
The Nittany Lions open the season on Aug. 30 in Beaver Stadium vs. Nevada. The next week, they host Florida International and FIU’s first-year head coach Wille Simmons has a vote in the Coaches’ poll.
Four former Penn State assistant coaches under Franklin who are now head coaches also have a vote in the Coaches’ poll: Manny Diaz (Duke), Charles Huff (Southern Miss), Gerad Parker (Troy) and Brent Pry (Virginia Tech).
Franklin is right: It’s not so much where you start as where you finish. In 1999, after starting No. 3 in the preseason AP poll, Penn State spent eight weeks at No. 2, then lost three straight games, before defeating Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl to finish No. 11 in the final Coaches’ rankings.
Penn State was No. 1 twice when it really counted at the end of the season. The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 1 in the final polls and national champions in both 1982 and 1986. However, they started No. 6 in the 1982 preseason AP poll and No. 8 in the 1986 preseason AP poll.
