4 Takeaways From Penn State's Position in the Post-Spring Rankings

There's a promising narrative around the Nittany Lions despite all their change.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back James Peoples runs with the ball during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Before Penn State finished spring drills, associate head coach Terry Smith marveled at how quickly and completely Matt Campbell remade the team. The Nittany Lions have 55 new players, 40 of whom are transferred, and 24 of those followed Campbell from Iowa State.

"We were able to pull together a really good roster," said Smith, who stayed at Penn State after serving as interim head coach for seven games last season. "We’ve got a chance to be successful next year."

Next year is fast approaching. Penn State completed spring drills having made progress in some areas and raising more questions in others. Yet Campbell believes he has put together a team that can succeed next spring.

"Do I feel really good about our roster? Boy, I do," Campbell said.

Does anyone else? We scraped the post-spring college football rankings to take the national temperature about the Nittany Lions. Here's what we found.

Penn State is an at-large playoff contender

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the field during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State's average post-spring ranking was 16.7, according to seven national outlets that put together their top-25s. The highest rank was 15th, from FOX Sports' Joel Klatt and ESPN's Mark Schlabach. The most common rank was 18th.

That placement puts Penn State in contention for an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff. In fact, On3's Brett McMurphy has the Nittany Lions seeded 11th and visiting Texas for a first-round game. in the first round

There's a lot of upside presented in these rankings, plenty of which comes from Campbell's history of success at Iowa State. The Cyclones were on pace for a potential playoff berth in 2024 before losing in the Big 12 title game, and Campbell is Iowa State's winningest coach.

The combination of what Campbell did in Ames with what he can achieve with the "elite" resources Penn State promised has positioned the program on better footing after the disappointing 7-6 campaign of 2025.

College football believes in Rocco Becht

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht reacts during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State fans aren't yet sold on a team built around 25 percent of Iowa State's roster from last year. That's fair. But Campbell organized a smart movement from Ames, bringing with him a group of experienced players, notably on offense, who will be plug-and-play immediately for the Nittany Lions.

Quarterback Rocco Becht is the chief example. Becht will be the most experienced FBS quarterback next season, bringing with him 39 starts, 26 wins and more than 2,500 snaps to Penn State's Sept. 5 opener vs. Marshall.

Becht also has a success rate to go with the scars. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser still marvels at how Becht led the Cyclones to a come-from-behind win vs. UCF in 2024 after throwing two interceptions (one for a pick-6) that resulted in two Knights touchdowns.

“The guy truly put the offense on his back,” Mouser said. “We had one last drive to beat UCF, we were undefeated at the time, we're 6-0, and he had one of those out-of-body experiences for me where the guy willed us down the field."

The schedule helps plenty

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell watches from behind the line of scrimmage during the Blue-White Spring game at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State has the Big Ten's friendliest schedule for a playoff run. The Nittany Lions won't face the conference's three playoff teams (Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon) during the regular season and also miss nine-win Iowa and Illinois. The non-conference road game is vs. Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where Penn State will be the de facto home team.

"This one is a lot about the schedule," Klatt wrote. "There are some teams ranked behind Penn State who have better rosters, but if you look at the schedule, the Nittany Lions should be a top-15 team."

Added Sports Illustrated's Bryan Fischer, "They will miss most of the Big Ten’s top threats so a fast start can’t be ruled out even with such massive changes to the program."

Penn State didn't get the biggest new-coach bump

Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham speaks to media after the spring game at Michigan Stadium. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some of the post-spring affection for Penn State can be attributed to Campbell and the program's new-coach smell. The national view of Penn State was that James Franklin's tenure had run its course and that the program was fortunate Campbell was interested and available.

However, Michigan's new-coach bump with Kyle Whittingham is more dramatic than Penn State's. In all seven post-spring rankings, the Wolverines rank higher than the Nittany Lions.

Michigan's rankings range from ninth to 16th, with a mean of about 13. The Wolverines return starting quarterback Bryce Underwood from a 9-4 team and didn't go through the transfer change that Penn State did (the Wolverines lost 27 players to the portal, according to 247Sports).

Penn State and Michigan's new-coach bumps will go head-to-head Oct. 17 in Ann Arbor.

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