Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 3 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Allar, coming off a junior season in which he ranked fourth in the Big Ten with a 153.5 passer rating, was pretty unequivocal himself in assessing Penn State's ambitions, noting that the Lions view last season's 11-3 finish as more like a baseline than a goal. "We want to be in the playoffs every year," he said. "That's why we came to Penn State. We want to be able to compete for Big Ten titles and compete for national championships. To have that be the stan- dard now is what we want to do — and exceed those standards this year." With Oregon on deck, he and his team- mates will have a chance to show just how ready they are for their assault on the Big Ten summit. In the meantime, here's a look at how BWI sees the conference race shaping up. Predicted Order Of Finish 1. Ohio State When making these sorts of predic- tions, it's important to avoid recency bias. Just because Ohio State nearly shut out preseason No. 1 Texas on opening day doesn't mean it's a shoo-in for India- napolis. In the Buckeyes' case, however, it isn't just recent events that suggest they're the best team in the conference, and maybe the entire country. Despite los- ing 14 players to the NFL Draft, they were being hailed even before the season be- gan as potential champs. Led by a pair of All-Americans in sophomore wideout Jeremiah Smith and junior safety Caleb Downs, Ohio State went into the season with the best odds of winning the national title at +450, per the BetMGM sportsbook. Then the season started, and the de- fending national champs looked emi- nently capable of living up to the hype. Under the direction of longtime NFL coach Matt Patricia, Ohio State's defense clamped down hard on the visiting Long- horns, allowing quarterback Arch Man- ning to complete only 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards in a 14-7 victory by the hosts. The Buckeyes never really got their own offense humming, but sophomore quar- terback Julian Sayin did make some his- tory, becoming the first FBS quarterback since Michigan's Jim Harbaugh in 1984 to Top 10 Offensive Players 1. Jeremiah Smith | WR | Ohio State Texas did a nice job of preventing Smith from making any game-wrecking plays in the season opener, holding him to 43 yards and keeping him out of the end zone. Don't expect anyone else to have that much success. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Smith would be a potential No. 1 overall draft pick next spring if he were eligible. Unfortunately for Ohio State's opponents, he's still going to be in Columbus in 2026. 2. Jayden Maiava | QB | USC Yes, Maiava's 295-yard passing performance on opening day comes with the caveat that he was facing Missouri State. But he did it in just two quarters of work, and he also threw for 295 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 35-31 comeback win over Texas A&M last December. The junior gives every indication that he's headed for a huge year. 3. Dante Moore | QB | Oregon Moore hasn't put together a big résumé yet, but what we've seen has been dazzling. Sur- rounded by a cast of elite playmakers to whom he can distribute the ball, Moore completed 50 of 64 passes for 657 yards, with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception, in his first three starts. In a couple of weeks, he might belong at the top of this list. 4. Kaytron Allen | RB | Penn State With 3,150 career rushing yards through the first three weeks of his senior season, Allen is clos- ing in on Evan Royster's Penn State record of 3,932. Could he become the first 4,000-yard rusher in school history? It's possible, though his average of 8.0 yards per carry through three games is sure to decline once the Big Ten season begins. 5. Drew Allar | QB | Penn State With three transfer receivers at his disposal, Allar looked sharp in Penn State's opener against Ne- vada, completing 22 of 26 throws for 217 yards and a touchdown. However, he was up-and-down the next two weeks versus Florida International and Villanova. PSU will need him to be at his abso- lute best if it's going to beat Oregon on Sept. 27. 6. Luke Altmyer | QB | Illinois Altmyer took a giant leap forward as a junior last fall, completing 61 percent of his passes for 2,717 yards, with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He opened his final season by hitting 56 of 78 attempts for 709 yards, with 8 TDs and no picks, in Illinois' first three games. 7. Nicholas Singleton | RB | Penn State Singleton has gotten off to a slow start, but it's impossible to ignore his body of work. With 3,091 career yards through PSU's first three games, he, like his classmate Allen, is within reach of the school's all-time rushing record. 8. Jonah Coleman | RB | Washington In his first season at Washington after transferring from Arizona, Coleman rushed for 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns. He figures to fare even better this year after starting his senior year by totaling 288 yards and 7 touchdowns in wins over Colorado State and UC Davis. 9. Logan Jones | C | Iowa Jones, a 6-3, 302-pound graduate student, made his 39th career start in Iowa's opener against Albany. He was named a second-team preseason All-American by USA Today and Walter Camp and is Pro Football Focus' top center in the Power Four. 10. Fernando Mendoza | QB | Indiana The Cal transfer came to Bloomington with high expectations, and he's lived up to them so far. Through three games, he had completed 72.4 percent of his attempts for 708 yards and 9 touch- downs, with no interceptions. After a relatively quiet afternoon in Ohio State's season opener against Texas, Jeremiah Smith had 5 catches for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns against Grambling in Week 2. PHOTO COURTESY OHIO STATE ATHLETICS