Joel Klatt Places Penn State Atop His Post-Spring Top 25

The Fox Sports analyst believes the Nittany Lions are ready to "take the next step" next season.

Penn State coach James Franklin reacts to a play in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Penn State found itself fronting a bunch of way-too-early preseason top 25s in January, when the Orange Bowl sting still was fresh. Spring football practice appears to have fortified that positive impression of the Nittany Lions, particularly with Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt. His post-spring No. 1? The Penn State Nittany Lions.

Klatt catalogued his spring-practice top 25 on a recent episode of the Joel Klatt Show, which he punctuated with a glowing review of the Nittany Lions. Klatt had one significant cause for pause but said that Penn State was ready to clear that hurdle.

"I like this team," Klatt said on the podcast. "I like this team a lot."

My Post-Spring Top 25 for 2025...Can't wait! pic.twitter.com/gTTP7QjJSr

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) May 5, 2025

What does Klatt like about Penn State? Some highlights:

• The bluepint: Klatt drew parallels between Penn State's arc and those of Michigan and Ohio State, which won the past two College Football Playoff titles. "Both of those teams had a core group of veteran players stay," Klatt said. "They stayed and they won a championship. Both of those teams had veterans at quarterback. They had veterans on both sides of the ball. They were excellent at the line of scrimmage. They had chips on their shoulders from the way that they were bounced in the postseason in years prior. All of that is true about Penn State."

• The new wide receivers room: Klatt referenced Penn State's lack of a catch by a wide receiver in the Orange Bowl and how head coach James Franklin addressed that deficiency in the portal. He was particularly high on Syracuse transfer Trebor Pena: "Love him, love him," Klatt said.

• Quarterback Drew Allar: "I think he's going to have a big, big year," Klatt said.

So what concerns Klatt about Penn State? It's a common theme for the Nittany Lions and Franklin over the past eight years. To rehash: Franklin's Penn State teams are 1-15 against AP Top 5 teams, including three losses last season to Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions have not lost a regular-season game to anyone but Ohio State or Michigan since 2021.

"The last question I would have for Penn State is the last hurdle that Penn State has," Klatt said. "Penn State has proven, really for a number of years, they will absolutely take care of business. They will beat the teams that they should beat. What we haven't seen from Penn State is them rise up and win the game that I would call a matchup game. When they're looking across [the field] and the talent is [equal], and they may even be a bit of an underdog, can they win that game?

"Because, up until this point, they haven't. Can they? Yes, I absolutely believe that they can. ... That's the next step. I believe they will take the next step."