Overview

• Penn State topped the standings in Cleveland.com’s 15th annual preseason Big Ten poll with 11 first-place votes while Ohio State followed in second place.
• Voters selected James Franklin as the conference’s preseason Coach of the Year by a narrow 10-9 margin over Illinois’ Bret Bielema.
• Quarterback Drew Allar returns as a third-year starter with 6,302 career passing yards and 53 touchdowns, earning recognition as the league’s top signal-caller entering 2025.
• Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton each posted 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and were voted the Big Ten’s leading backfield tandem for the upcoming campaign.
• Jim Knowles joins Penn State as defensive coordinator after three years at Ohio State, where he helped build the Buckeyes into a national championship defense.