Penn State fans have been through the wringer. Every fall, it’s the same trailer: wild recruiting class, freakish roster, and those classic ‘this is our year’ vibes. Then comes November. James Franklin face-plants into another top-10 loss. But this isn’t that same old script (hopefully), because behind the curtain in Happy Valley, something nasty has been brewing. And when a former Penn State who went on to win the Super Bowl starts talking titles? You better believe people start looking up. Real ones know—when alums start chirping, smoke usually means fire.

We all know Penn State went 13-3 last season and was this close to sniffing the natty. Three losses, sure—but they came from straight killers: Ohio State (the eventual champs), Oregon in the Big Ten title, and Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl semis. Let’s not sugarcoat it, though—the last L stung deep. Drew Allar had the rocket launcher out all game… until the one throw that got housed for a dub and sent Notre Dame packing to the finals. Fans felt it. And former Penn State wideout Jahan Dotson felt it, too.

247Sports’ Daniel Gallen chopped it up on X about what Dotson said at the “We Are… In Philly,” NIL fundraiser. Dotson, now fighting for snaps behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in Philly, did not mince words. “Championship. National championship,” he told Lions247. “We were right there.” Coming from a guy who played in all 17 games for a Super Bowl-winning squad? Yeah, that carries weight.

Dotson has been watching from the rafters. Said he was up at State College a few weeks back, scoping the vibes. “We got a lot of pieces returning. I keep very close tabs on the guys. I was just up there a couple weeks ago, and they’re looking good. We can do it. We got the coaching staff to do it…We got the players to do it, so I’m expecting a lot of big things this year.”

Penn State’s bringing back 14 starters — nine on offense, five on defense. That’s top-tier for any Power Five squad. They’re in the same all-in mode Michigan and Ohio State were in before they made natty runs.

Here is a brief outlook of how the Nittany Lions’ roster looks before entering the 2025 season:

Offense:

• Quarterback: After throwing 3,327 yards with 24 TDs, Drew Allar is back and very close to being a top-3 Heisman favorite
• Running backs: After pulling 1k rushes last year, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, both running backs, are back to haunt the Big Ten front sevens one more time.
• Wide receivers: HC Franklin upgraded his offense by adding Devonte Ross from Troy (1,043 yards, 11 TDs) and Trebor Pena from Syracuse (941 yards, 9 TDs)

Defense:

• Linebacker: Even with Abdul Carter gone to the NFL, Penn State has Max Granville ready to step up this season. The redshirt freshman got folks buzzing after stepping in for Carter during the Fiesta Bowl injuries. Gallen said it straight: “There’s a lot of excitement about Max.”

• Defensive coordinator: Yes, Tom Allen got away to Clemson. But HC Franklin pulled the biggest heist when he locked Jim Knowles, who helped the Buckeyes win the Natty, as the next DC in Penn State.

So, no wonder ESPN ranked the Nittany Lions as the preseason No. 1 team, because Penn State has everything covered this season.

And don’t get it twisted, Dotson’s clock is ticking. Philly didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, and last season was his quietest yet: 19 grabs for 216 yards. The Eagles’ wide receiver got one foot in the exit line at Philly. But that only makes his words louder—he is not over-hyping Penn State to stay relevant. He’s saying it because he believes it.

James Franklin’s Penn State 2025 season outlook & total wins

Penn State knows exactly how close they came to the big dance last year. One throw. One damn play. That’s all that stood between the Nittany Lions and the natty stage. So what did James Franklin do this offseason? He emptied the clip.

Daniel Gallen, who knows this program better than half the coaching staff, dropped some real insight on the Cover 3 College Football Summer School series with Bud Elliott. “The mindset of Penn State right now is that they know how close they came,” he said. “They’re very aware of what their shortcomings were.” That awareness hit different this offseason. Portal? Ransacked. Staff? Reloaded. WR room? Stacked. They didn’t just tweak the formula—they threw the old playbook in a bonfire.

Oddsmakers got their eyes wide open, too. FanDuel set Penn State’s win total at 10.5, tied with Ohio State and Oregon. That means Vegas sees them in that elite circle. They have to play both squads, sure. But the rest? Winnable. Even Iowa, the sneaky trap game, isn’t looking so scary anymore.

Still, there’s one ghost James Franklin hasn’t shaken off yet—his record in big boy games. 4–20 vs. Top 10 teams. 1–15 vs. Top 5. And ranked teams overall? 12–26. That’s brutal. The last top-5 dub was in 2016. Blocked field goal. Chaos. Legend. But that was nearly a decade ago. Fans are tired of the excuses. They want the ring. And maybe, with the squad locked and loaded, the new faces in town, and even Jahan Dotson preaching gospel from Philly, 2025 might finally be the year Franklin shuts everybody up. But hey… we’ve said that before, right?