Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Rise in the ESPN SP+ Spring Rankings

Penn State football has been among the lead stories college football’s 2025 offseason. After their bitter loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, the Nittany Lions quickly turned toward next season with a singular mission: to win the College Football Playoff championship.

As spring practice approaches, Penn State retains that national brand. Penn State is third in the latest ESPN SP+ rankings, Bill Connelly’s formula that measures team efficiences across offense, defense and special teams to predict a finish and not to measure success. In that sense, Penn State is improving. The Nittany Lions ranked fifth in the season-ending ESPN SP+ rankings and enter spring practice at No. 3 behind defending national champ Ohio State and Alabama. Penn State ranks ahead of Georgia and Notre Dame, which round out the top 5.

Connelly’s updated rankings lean heavily on three key assessment points: returning production, recruiting and recent history. Penn State performs well in all three categories.

The Nittany Lions return much of their offensive production with quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and five offensive linemen with starting experience. Of course, Penn State must fill the great gap left by Tyler Warren’s departure (and his 104 catches) along with the transfers of the team’s top two receivers. Defensively, edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton is a budding All-American, safety Zakee Wheatley and cornerback A.J. Harris lead the secondary and Tony Rojas seeks to become one of the Big Ten’s top linebackers.

In recruiting, Penn State brought in the nation’s 15th-ranked class, according to the 247Sports Composite, and one that features some potential early contributors. As for recent history, the Nittany Lions have won at least 10 regular-season games over the past three seasons, went 11-1 during the 2024 regular season and won 13 games for the first time in school history.

Further, Penn State is basking in the “all-in” perception that national media has cultivated for the program. Several too-early college football rankings that emerged in January had Penn State listed as No. 1. The Nittany Lions have staked their claim by returning top talent, signing defensive coordinator Jim Knowles as the nation’s highest-paid assistant and bringing in former Temple head coach Stan Drayton to coach running backs.