Expectations are extremely high in 2025 for James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions as they are fresh off their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. With quarterback Drew Allar along with the two-headed monster running back duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen returning, this team looks like one of the best in this upcoming college football season. This year in their conference schedule they drew tough matchups against Oregon and will once again get a shot to get over the hump of Ohio State.
Even with losses in both of these games, they would still have a good shot at making the playoff, assuming they took care of business in the rest of their schedule where they will likely be heavy favorites. However, things are not always that easy in the world of college football. Here are the potential slip up spots or trap games for Penn State in the 2025 season.
Week 6 at UCLA (Oct 6)
Penn State will make their lone trip out west to take on a UCLA team that has a lot of question marks and recently added quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Last season we saw the Nittany Lions struggle early in their cross country trip when they went down big in the first half to USC before coming back to win in overtime. This matchup against the Bruins will also be Penn State’s first road game of the season and comes the week after their matchup with Oregon making it a prime let down spot.
Week 8 at Iowa (Oct 18)
Kinnick Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten making Iowa a dangerous team at home. The Hawkeyes may also finally have that talented quarterback in South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski to go along with their dominant defense.
Add in the fact that this one falls the week before the Nittany Lions bye which is followed by the biggest game of their season against Ohio State and we have the makings of a trap. Seven of the last eight of the Nittany Lions’ trips to Iowa City have resulted in either a loss or close one possession win and I would not be surprised to see the same this year.
Week 13 vs Nebraska (Nov 22)
Come November this may not even have the capability of being categorized as a trap game. Nebraska has a real shot at entering this one 9-1 or even 10-0 and making it just a straight up big game. Quarterback Dylan Raiola is looking to make a big jump in his second season as the starter and Matt Rhule has gotten better year-after-year as a head coach with every program he has been with.
This one falling late in the season when Penn State’s schedule really dies down makes it even more dangerous. Even if the Cornhuskers come in struggling, Nebraska is never a team you want to overlook.