The Penn State Nittany Lions, even through all of the turmoil, still land in the preseason Top-25.
The Penn State Nittany Lions will be one of the most popular teams early on in the 2026 season. They are such an anomaly heading into next year because no one has any idea what they will actually be.
One day, there will be a really good ESPN 30-for-30 on these three years of Penn State football as they have gone from National Semifinalist, to 6-6 without a coach, and then to a new regime that has expectations through the roof.
It is really rare that a new coach comes in and in year one is expected to make the playoffs, but that is the reality in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions' schedule is such that they should be able to roll through their early games with ease. Once they do that, they have a favorable Big Ten schedule that is highlighted by three games against stout competition.
A Saturday night Whiteout against USC, a road trip to the Big House, and a road trip to Seattle to play Washington will define their season.
All of that comes later. What comes now is a preseason Top-25 ranking from the On3 Network that more than doubles down on the above theory, as they have the Nittany Lions ranked at No. 18 in the country.
They are one spot ahead of SMU while being one spot behind the aforementioned Washington Huskies and two spots behind the Michigan Wolverines.
The respect is obviously still there for the Nittany Lions, but the truth is, this entire season is one major question mark. No one knows what this team is going to be when it shows up on the first Saturday in the fall.
Rocco Becht could have the best season that any Penn State quarterback has ever had, or it could go wildly wrong. No one really knows what is going to happen.
Campbell has never coached at this level. It is the biggest spot that he has ever been in and, frankly, might ever be. This will be an entirely new experience for him, and there is no reason to believe that he won't be successful, but it's no guarantee that he will be.
What they do know is that the Nittany Lions have a very solid roster of transfers, they have a new head coach that is universally loved, and a schedule that they can take advantage of.
That could be a recipe for some serious success. However, it could also be a recipe for a colossal disaster.
