College football: Preseason AP Top 25 projections for 2023

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Sep 1, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) passes the ball in the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

An argument could be made that Penn State has one of the best defenses in all of college football. Actually, that’s a fairly widespread opinion. You could actually make a legit argument that Penn State has the best defense in the country.

With arguably the best defensive backfield and defensive line in the country, Penn State is going to cause some serious problems this season. Oh, and the linebackers are elite, too.

Since there are no real question marks on Manny Diaz’s defense, what about the offense? Well, that might be improving, too.

While Sean Clifford is gone, Drew Allar might be the best first-year starting quarterback in the country this season. He has elite potential and there’s a reason he was a five-star in the 2022 class. He’ll have arguably the best backfield in the Big Ten behind him (my pick is Michigan for the best backfield, but it’s close).

I think this will be a very classic Penn State team that could legitimately win the conference and finally make the playoff.

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