ESPN Analyst Picks Penn State to Win 2026 National Championship
![Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leads the team out before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leads the team out before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6423,h_3612,x_0,y_333/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_penn_state/01jjqp9wmqjyddvd9eej.jpg)
Penn State is getting love letters from across college football, and why not? The Nittany Lions won a school-record 13 games last season, hired arguably the best defensive coordinator in college football and return more than a dozen starters from their College Football Playoff semifinalist. So with that comes expectations, including for a national championship. At ESPN, Bill Connelly predicts one is coming.
Connelly, the author of ESPN's SP+ system, has mapped the 2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket. His national champion: Penn State. Thirty-nine years after their last title, the Nittany Lions will defeat Georgia for the CFP title, Connelly writes for ESPN. In addition, Connelly predicts that Penn State will win their second Big Ten title under head coach James Franklin. And the Nittany Lions will win it over Michigan.
Into the playoffs, Connelly likes Penn State over Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl (revenge), over Utah in the Fiesta Bowl (continuing its perfect record there) and then over top-seeded Georgia in the championship game.
"Hey, if Will Howard can win a national title [at Ohio State], so can Drew Allar," Connelly writes. "Especially with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in Penn State's corner."
Connelly isn't alone in picking Penn State to make a real run for the title next season. Fox Sports' Joel Klatt picks Penn State at No. 1 for his too-early 2025 Top 25, saying on his podcast that the Nittany Lions are "knocking on the door of a national championship." The Athletic's Stewart Mandel listed Penn State as his pre-preseason No. 1 as well.
Why is everyone so in love with the 2025 Nittany Lions? Franklin has prioritized returning talent (as Ohio State and Michigan did the past two seasons) by bringing back Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and five offensive linemen with starting experience. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki turned down at least one head-coaching opportunity to call Penn State's offense for a second season.
Then Franklin brought Knowles, who led Ohio State's top-ranked 2024 defense, to Penn State to take charge of a group that returns top talent Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, A.J. Harris and Zakee Wheatley. Knowles introduced himself to the team by saying, "This is where I want to be."
The 2025 Penn State football season is a long, twisting road away, but the Nittany Lions are off to a good offseason start.
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