The 2025 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played home games at Beaver Stadium located in College Township, Pennsylvania, with a mailing address of University Park, Pennsylvania.
Despite high preseason expectations, including a No. 2 Week 0 ranking in the AP poll and a 3âÂÂ0 start, Penn State's season would collapse starting in week 5 with a home loss in double overtime against No. 6 Oregon. This was followed by a 42âÂÂ37 loss at a winless UCLA team, despite being 25.5-point favorites. The defeat is widely considered one of the worst in program history and one of the largest upsets in college football history. As a result of this loss, the team dropped out of the AP Top 25.
On October 11, Penn State suffered another home loss against Northwestern after quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending leg injury late in the fourth quarter, forcing redshirt freshman backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer to the starting role. Three additional losses followed: at Iowa, 25âÂÂ24; at then-No. 1 Ohio State, 38âÂÂ14; and vs. then-No. 2 Indiana, 27âÂÂ24. These extended the team's losing streak to six games.
By the end of week 7, Penn State's 2025 season had been characterized as a "historic collapse" by multiple sports publications as the Nittany Lions became the first NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program to lose back-to-back matchups as a 20-point favorite. The Nittany Lions eventually rebounded by winning their last 3 games to finish the regular season 6âÂÂ6, their worst record since also going 6âÂÂ6 in 2014. They secured a 7âÂÂ6 record by defeating Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl 22âÂÂ10.
The team was led by 12th-year head coach James Franklin for the first six games of the season; Franklin was fired on October 12 following the loss to Northwestern. Associate head coach Terry Smith was named the Nittany Lions' interim head coach.
The Penn State Nittany Lions drew an average home attendance of 107,093, the 2nd-highest of all American football teams in the world.
The annual Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Media Poll was released on July 21, 2025. The Nittany Lions were predicted to finish the regular season first in the conference.
Quarterback Drew Allar suffered a leg injury late in the fourth quarter and was later ruled out for the remainder of the season. The day following the loss to Northwestern, head coach James Franklin was fired.