Second-ranked Penn State is on the short list of national championship contenders as the Nittany Lions roar into the 2025 opener.
Penn State is propelled by a roster loaded with experience and returnees from a 13-3 season that ended in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Nittany Lions are resounding favorites as they face Nevada in a nonconference game on Saturday afternoon at University Park, Pa.
Penn State bowed out of its first-ever CFP appearance with a 27-24 loss to Notre Dame. The other two losses were to eventual national champion Ohio State and another playoff participant, Oregon.
Quarterback Drew Allar threw a costly interception in the CFP semifinal to set up the Fighting Irish’s winning field goal. Now Allar believes the Nittany Lions are ready to take the next step.
“We know what those situations feel like,” Allar said. “We know what it’s like to be on both ends of it, the winning side or the losing side. So channeling that and flushing bad moments and staying in the present when big moments come.”
Penn State coach James Franklin hears the critics but is attempting to keep everything in perspective.
“People were pissed and disappointed, and most programs around the country would die to have that type of season,” Franklin said. “So there’s more talk going on nationally. I get that. But within our program, I don’t really sense a difference.”
Penn State lost two prolific All-Americans in defensive end Abdul Carter (national-best 23.5 tackles for loss) and tight end Tyler Warren (tied for second with 104 receptions) but still is loaded with talent.
Allar passed for 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions and also rushed for six scores last season. He is third in school history with 53 career touchdowns and sixth with 6,302 passing yards.
The star-studded backfield of Nicholas Singleton (2,912 career rushing yards) and Kaytron Allen (2,877) is more than a crutch for Allar. Both backs have a shot at surpassing the school rushing record held by Evan Royster (3,932 from 2007-10). Allen rushed for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns and added two receiving scores last season. Singleton rushed for 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns and had five scoring catches.
The Wolf Pack are all but assured a heavy dose of Singleton and Allen. Nevada ranked just 113th in rushing defense (192.8 yards per game) last season and only four teams allowed more rushing touchdowns (31).
“We’re going to be tested tremendously Week 1 because they’ve got two of the better backs in the country coming back at Penn State,” Nevada coach Jeff Choate told reporters.
Defensive tackle Zane Durant (17.5 career tackles for loss) and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton (15 career sacks) lead the Nittany Lions defense.
Nevada ended last season with six straight setbacks and has experienced three consecutive 10-loss campaigns.
The Wolf Pack went 2-10 twice in a row under Ken Wilson before Choate took over and got three wins out of an often overmatched team.
Choate is well aware things could get a little dicey in Happy Valley.
“They’re on par with the national championship caliber program,” Choate said of Penn State. “That’s really what you see. They don’t have a drop-off. To make a national championship type of run, you build around a quarterback, who is elite. Coach Franklin and that organization is committed to winning a national championship.”
Chubba Purdy will be Nevada’s starting quarterback. He played in seven games last season and started once — a 34-13 road loss at Hawaii in which he passed for 155 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The younger brother of San Francisco 49ers standout quarterback Brock Purdy has bounced around. He played two seasons at Florida State (2020-21), two at Nebraska (2022-23) and is in his second with Nevada.
Purdy has thrown seven touchdown passes and eight interceptions in 188 attempts during his college career.
This is the first meeting between the teams.
