Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
2 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 5 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Here's another data point to bear in mind, courtesy of CFB51.com: Of the 15 teams ranked in the top five of the past three preseason Associated Press polls, 11 finished with two or fewer losses dur- ing the regular season. With the playoff set to include 12 teams for the second (and perhaps final) year, a 10-2 record is going to be sufficient to get a Big Ten team into the CFP field. And as Ohio State showed last year, a couple of regu- lar-season losses are no reason to think that a team can't win it all. If it gets hot at the right time, anything is possible. That's all very hopeful for a Penn State program that is coming off one of the most heartbreaking losses of the Franklin era. And it's a reminder that, at least for programs with the resources to assemble top-10 recruiting classes and compete in the transfer market, there's always the promise of better days ahead. Even amid the dis appointment of last season's finale, the Nittany Lions could see their future taking shape. As Franklin said, "The sun will come up tomorrow." Tomorrow is here, and the sun's still shining, perhaps brighter than ever. ■ Senior running back Nicholas Singleton was named a first-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele and was joined by one of his blockers, redshirt junior guard Olaivavega Ioane. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS