Penn State is staring at a season that feels bigger than a preseason ranking, and the No. 18 spot in the AP Top 25 is a pretty clear reminder of why. The Nittany Lions are still a major name, still backed by a huge fan base and a massive stadium, but the ground beneath them in the Big Ten has shifted.
For a long stretch after joining the conference in 1993, Penn State could look at its schedule and have a pretty good sense of where the wins and losses were coming from. Michigan and Ohio State usually sat above the Nittany Lions, sure, but the rest of the league rarely felt like a real threat to pass them. Even after Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska entered the Big Ten, Penn State’s place near the top of the food chain mostly held.
That’s not the picture now. In this preseason poll, Penn State sits behind six Big Ten teams, a sign that the old order is no longer automatic. And while that kind of setup has happened before - if you count USC, Oregon, UCLA and Washington as Big Ten mainstays, Penn State has had four or more conference teams ranked ahead of it in the preseason Top 25 five times since 2016 - it still speaks to how much the conversation has changed.
The teams in front of Penn State are the real story here. Ohio State at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2 are in the kind of place where there’s no obvious sign of a slide coming.
Indiana, ranked No. 6, is coming off a run that earned national respect, even if repeating it looks unlikely. USC at No. 14 still has the kind of recruiting power that makes it dangerous.
Michigan at No. 16 is still Michigan, even if it has something to prove right now. Washington at No. 17, under Jedd Fisch, has to show it can keep this going.
Put those names together, and the picture gets clearer: there’s a real case that Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan and USC can hold, or build, a permanent edge over Penn State in the Big Ten pecking order.
That’s why the start of the Matt Campbell era carries so much weight. Penn State needs him to win the games the program has traditionally won.
It needs Athletic Director Pat Kraft’s decision to move on from James Franklin to be the right one. It needs the Beaver Stadium renovation to keep fans engaged even as ticket prices rise.
And it needs NIL money to keep flowing.
Penn State’s brand, fan base and stadium still give it a cushion. But that cushion only goes so far.
The Nittany Lions might be too big to get left behind completely, but they are not too big to drift backward. And at a moment when the program is trying to make major forward strides, even a small step in the wrong direction would matter.
In Other News...
Penn State Is Still Waiting On A Key Tight End Return
Penn States tight end room has had to keep moving without one of its most experienced pieces this spring. Gabe Burkle, a redshirt senior and Iowa State transfer, is expected to be one of the Nittany Lions top options at the position when healthy, but he is still working his way back from the ACL injury that cut into his 2025 season and limited him to nine games.
Even with Burkle sidelined from practice, his influence has not disappeared from the room. He has been helping younger tight ends get comfortable in the offense and sharpen their skills, a useful presence for a group that is still sorting out its depth and development. For Penn State, the timeline on Burkles return remains a meaningful subplot because his availability could shape how quickly the position settles in once the season pressure ramps up. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State's Rebuilt Backfield Is Drawing Early National Attention
Penn States reworked backfield is already getting noticed beyond State College, with Carson Hansen and James Peoples both landing on the 2026 Doak Walker Award Watch List. The honor goes to the nations top running backs, and it gives an early hint that the Nittany Lions believe they have added real punch to a rushing attack now being shaped under new head coach Matt Campbell.
Hansen arrived from Iowa State, while Peoples came over from Ohio State, and both are expected to factor heavily as Penn State tries to establish itself on the ground again. The award race will tighten as the season goes on, with semifinalists due in November and the winner set to be announced in December, so this is only the first checkpoint for a pair of backs with plenty still to prove. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Faces A Huge Recruiting Test With Elite 2028 Linebacker
Penn State is already laying the groundwork for its 2028 recruiting class, with three commitments in place and contact spreading across several positions. One of the early names worth watching is four-star linebacker Skylar Alston of Raleigh, N.C., a prospect whose profile fits neatly with a program that has long sold itself on developing linebackers as well as anyone in the country. He has already made the rounds on the visit circuit, including an unofficial stop in Happy Valley, and his recruitment is shaping up as the kind of multi-school battle that tends to stretch well beyond the summer.
For Penn State, the challenge is not just getting Alston on campus again, but making the connection feel deeper than a first impression. The Nittany Lions will look to lean on their linebacker tradition as they build this relationship, and a possible fall game-day visit could give them another chance to separate themselves from the pack. For now, though, the race remains crowded, and Penn State still has to prove it can turn early interest into real traction. [Read more 🡒]