Penn State is a far-from-perfect product after making a deep College Football Playoff run but looking far from championship material.

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel is a preseason Penn State believer, placing the Nittany Lions atop his too-early top 25 for 2025. "I'm skeptical they can actually pull it off," Mandel writes, "but on paper, James Franklin's team deserves that status given how many players are returning."

The Nittany Lions ended in the top five for the first time since 2005. It’s the first time the Big Ten has had three teams in the final top five. Ohio State was No. 1 and Oregon was No. 3.

See where the Nittany Lions landed in the season's final rankings after setting a school-record for victories.

Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter connected on a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter, propelling the Fighting Irish past the Nittany Lions. The kick came six plays after Penn State quarterback Drew Allar threw an interception with 33 seconds left in the fourth frame, setting Notre Dame up at Penn State's 42-yard line.

It should come as no surprise that the Buckeyes landed plenty of players on the CBS Sports' All-College Football Playoff Team

Mike Denbrock’s scripted opening series was a masterpiece, but there weren’t many answers on either side of the ball once Ohio State settled in.

The Penn State Nittany Lions went 13-3 and finished in the top 5 of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2005.