Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt inks Penn State football as team 'knocking on the door' of national championship

It's never too early to predict how next season's college football top-10 may pan out, as Fox Sports' Joel Klatt explained on the latest edition of "The Joel Klatt Show."

Despite Ohio State winning the national championship against Notre Dame Monday night in Atlanta, Ga., Klatt's team to watch entering this fall is a surprise pick, one that lost to Ohio State during last year's regular season but still wound up in the postseason with a deep run: Penn State.

The Nittany Lions return many key players next fall, even after former defensive coordinator Tom Allen's departure to the Clemson Tigers. These include quarterback Drew Allar to complete a three-headed offensive juggernaut beside running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who announced their return to State College on the same day. Penn State also returns defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, among others.

"Penn State is going to be my No. 1 team in my way-too-early top-10 for 2025," Klatt said in a video posted Thursday. "Penn State has gotten better every single year for the past three or four years. James Franklin, their team, man – they had every opportunity to win that game against Notre Dame. They are knocking on the door of a national championship, and now they're bringing all of those key pieces back to their team. This is the blueprint."

Luckily for Klatt, the Nittany Lions' schedule this fall is primarily favorable, too.

Minus games against Oregon Sept. 27 at home and a road game against the Buckeyes Nov. 1, Penn State plays a winnable non-conference slate against Nevada (Aug. 30), FIU (Sept. 6) and Villanova (Sept. 13). In league games, it plays Northwestern, UCLA and Michigan State, as each failed to clinch a bowl bid last year. It also draws a Nov. 8 game against the Indiana Hoosiers, as they have much to prove following a surprising College Football Playoff appearance last season.

"Drew Allar has started 29 games [for Penn State] now," Klatt said. "He's gonna be one of the more experienced quarterbacks in college football. Singleton and Allen have started together since their freshman year. They're now gonna be in their fourth year. Four of five starters on the offensive line are back, and they have depth."

For now, it remains to be seen if Klatt's prediction is correct. However, for good reason, it's hard not to know why the Nittany Lions are a trendy pick to make a deep run, much less win a national championship this season.