'Watch Out for Penn State, Man,' Urban Meyer Says of the 2025 Nittany Lions

The preseason praise is going to begin ringing in Penn State coach James Franklin's ear. The latest to sing the Nittany Lions a love song is Urban Meyer, the former Ohio State coach and current FOX Sports analyst who sees a contender in State College.

In a recent appearance on The Herd With Colin Cowherd, Meyer praised the long-term development of the Big Ten (of course) in general and of Penn State's 2025 roster in particular. Meyer said that Penn State has one of the nation's top-three rosters, with Texas and Ohio State, and singled out one player as the pivot point of the Nittany Lions' season.

"Watch out for Penn State, man," Meyer told Cowherd on the show. "If Drew Allar can really improve as a quarterback, I agree with you they've got the best backfield, I don't think it's close, in the country. They've got an offensive line that they can't wait to get on the field. I think Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State are the three most talented [teams in college football]."

As other analysts, including Meyer's FOX co-worker Joel Klatt, have said, Penn State has one of the most experienced rosters in the country. The Nittany Lions have about 20 fourth-year players who will be starters or key contributors. That includes Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and four returning starters on the offensive line.

"Penn State is following the lead of the [Michigan] Wolverines and the [Ohio State] Buckeyes, and that is they have more seniors," Meyer said. "... I never had a chance to coach fourth-year players. If I did it was rare, and the difference between a fourth-year player and a rooke or a freshman is night and day. You're coaching grown-a** men. That's a men's locker room compared to a young person's."

Meyer also discussed some of his early impressions of the Big Ten when he became Ohio State's head coach in 2012 and the differences he noted with the SEC. Over the last decade, Meyer said he has seen a transformation in the Big Ten, notable in its two consecutive College Football Playoff titles and its recent uptick in draft picks.

"In 2012, [the Big Ten] wasn't even close," Meyer said on the show. "It was shocking. There were great players in the Big Ten, but the stadium atmospheres were just OK. The depth of talent was not there, and certainly the bottom half of the Big Ten just wasn't very good. That's changed. That's changed dramatically."

Penn State enters the 2025 college football season among the top contenders for the College Football Playoff. After a 13-3 season in which they reached the playoff semifinals, the Nittany Lions retained some of their top talent on both sides of the ball, hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and brought in former Temple head coach Stan Drayton to coach linebackers.

Franklin accepts that expectations regarding this season will be higher for Penn State than they have been since 1999, when the Nittany Lions were ranked third in the preseason AP Top 25. Franklin even told that to Meyer during a recent appearance on the former Ohio State coach's podcast — after reiterating that Penn State opens the season Aug. 30 against Nevada, of course.

"But I also am totally comfortable with talking about the things that we aspire to do as a team this year and as a season and for these players," Franklin said on the Triple Option podcast. "To me, that’s the biggest thing. I want these players to experience this. I want these players that have come back and made these sacrifices to be a part of something special. And that’s why I wake up very early and that’s why I go to sleep late at night, trying to put these players in the best position to be successful at it and have a very, very special season this year at Penn State.”

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