By mirroring the formula that propelled Ohio State and Michigan to national championship contention, Penn State is closer than ever to breaking through. In a recent analysis from JR and Jeff on Big Ten Takeover, the spotlight turns toward Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions' quarterback, and the structural pieces around him that will determine whether Penn State finally joins the sport’s elite.
From quarterback development to elite transfers and coaching staff upgrades, the blueprint is clear and Penn State is following it.
Quarterback Play: The Crucial Piece
No Big Ten team makes the national title game without an elite or at least highly capable quarterback. Think Will Howard at Ohio State last year or J.J. McCarthy at Michigan two years ago. These quarterbacks played an integral part to their teams reaching and ultimately winning the national championship. Whether it was their play under duress or being the leader of the team, they were part of the engine to fuel their run.
For Penn State, Drew Allar has the raw talent to do the same, but JR and Jeff point out that his performance in high-stakes games has been underwhelming. Against Michigan and Ohio State in 2024, he struggled to move the offense consistently. This raised a lot of questions about his readiness to lead a championship-caliber team. You can also add to that list how poorly he performed in the CFP semifinals matchup against Notre Dame as well.
Drew Allar is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in the nation with high draft pick expectations to go with it. The formula is simple: your QB has to deliver on the biggest stages. If Allar takes the next step in 2025, Penn State instantly becomes a serious national title contender.
Wide Receivers: Can the Transfers Deliver?
Penn State’s receiving corps in 2024 lacked that explosiveness. The incoming transfers are supposed to fix this gap, but the question remains: can they be elite? Penn State lost star tight end Tyler Warren via the draft but the transfers they did get all have a lot of promise to add a different dynamic to the passing game.
Notable names include Trevor Peña from Syracuse and Kyron Hudson from USC. Both guys add explosiveness to a unit that was severely lacking. If the wide receiver group gels, it opens up Penn State’s offense in ways they simply couldn’t unlock last season.
The Addition of Jim Knowles On The Defense And What It Means
Defense is where Penn State has often been elite but never to the same degree as Michigan or Ohio State. So what do they end up doing? They steal the Ohio State Defensive Coordinator.
The video highlights Jim Knowles’ influence at Ohio State. After arriving in Columbus, Knowles overhauled the Buckeyes’ defensive identity, increasing their speed, disguising coverages, and improving in situational football.
Penn State will now do the same with Knowles running their defense. Add on the fact that he’s been with Ohio State for years now and has a great understanding of how Ryan Day likes to run his offenses. He has insider information on parts to the formula that has already worked and also put Ohio State in a position of scrambling for a new coach. This is a bigger deal than many may think because Ohio State also lost their Offensive Coordinator. This kind of turnover can lead to a slower start out the gate and even lead to it trickling farther into the season where it might be too late by the time everything clicks.
With returning standouts and new faces ready to step up, this season may be the one where Penn State finally has the athleticism and strategic edge to consistently stop elite offenses.
Why the Formula Works and Why Penn State Has It
So, what is the shared championship formula? Elite Quarterback play, great coaching, and returning production throughout the roster. The returning production component has been a major benefit for both the two previous national championship winning teams.
Ohio State had ample amounts of players skip over the draft and the transfer portal to return back to school with a bigger picture in their eyes. They had returning production littered around the team from the offensive side of the ball to the defense. They also used the transfer portal just enough to fill in holes they had on their roster. The big name transfers to note were QB Will Howard, RB Quinshon Judkins, and S Caleb Downs. Mix those elite players with the foundation they already had and that led to good things for this historic program.
Michigan had the same deal. Now say what you want about all the scandals that recently happened about how they stole signs but this argument is for the sake of the foundation of the team. They had JJ McCarthy return at QB to run the offense which he knew very well from playing there in his previous season. Top level returning talent at running back in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. On top of that, Aidan Hutchinson was a freak on the defense being the vocal leader every team needs. Scattered in were a bunch of other good to great players that have been with the program either from their freshman year or for multiple years and once again this led to them receiving the hardware in 2023.
Fast forward to now, Penn State has almost identical tendencies to the way they built their roster. Returning production under center from Drew Allar, transfer portal additions to fill holes rather than build a team, and returning production at every position on the roster. The offensive line is considered one of the best in the nation and they have a two-headed monster in the backfield. That defense has plenty of potential as well even though they lost Abdul Carter to the draft along with Tyler Warren. Jim Knowles will have that unit ready to go as they have talent churning out on that side of the ball year after year. This type of chemistry and energy can propel this team to new heights this fall.
Conclusion: It’s All There—Just Add Execution
There are two C words that are the theme of this argument. That’s continuity and culture. In the era of the transfer portal and NIL these words can seem lost in the eyes of many programs around the nation. Just try to pay the most money to the best guys in the transfer portal. That hasn’t worked so far for the teams that have decided to do so. You can build a team for a season going this route but you can’t build sustained success relying on this. Penn State has been building up for a season like this for a long time.
The foundation is strong: a talented roster, smart coaching, and rising expectations. But as always in college football, it all comes down to whether the stars align in the moments that matter most. The blueprint is proven. The tools are there. Now, Penn State just has to go do the thing.
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