ESPN has shifted where they had the Penn State Nittany Lions in way too early 2026 College Football Top 25
Sep 13, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Tony Rojas (13) reacts following a sack on Villanova Wildcats quarterback Tanner Maddocks (3) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to kick off the Matt Campbell era. Despite the transition, the hype is beginning to rise for the program.
Heading into the 2026 college football season, there may not be a more interesting team than the Penn State Nittany Lions. Former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell took over this offseason for the fired James Franklin , and he has brought a ton of new energy to Happy Valley. Despite the team coming off a 7-6 record last season, and a lot of coaching and roster turnover, Penn State was ranked at No.
22 in an initial way-too-early top-25 ranking by ESPN a couple of months ago. With the spring winding down, Mark Schlabach redid those rankings, seeing the Nittany Lions rise to the No. 15 spot.
It was an interesting ascent to see on the list. Here is what Schlabach wrote about Penn State and their latest ranking. 15.
Penn State Nittany Lions 2025 record: 7-6, 3-6 Big Ten Previous ranking: 22 Key players lost: RB Kaytron Allen , RB Nicholas Singleton , QB Drew Allar , DT Zane Durant , DE Dani Dennis-Sutton , S Zakee Wheatley , LB Amare Campbell , G Olaivavega Ioane , CB A. J. Harris Key additions: QB Rocco Becht (Iowa State), WR Chase Sowell (Iowa State), WR Brett Eskildsen (Iowa State), TE Benjamin Brahmer (Iowa State), RB Carson Hansen (Iowa State), G Trevor Buhr (Iowa State), LB Caleb Bacon (Iowa State), LB Kooper Ebel (Iowa State), S Marcus Neal Jr .