The final chapter in the 2022 college football season will be written Monday night with Georgia and TCU squaring off in this season’s College Football Playoff national championship. And that means it’s time to dive headfirst into the way-too-early top 25 rankings from various media outlets as we quickly look ahead to the 2023 season. And after winning 11 games with a victory in the Rose Bowl, the bar has officially been raised for Penn State next fall.
247Sports released its version of the way-too-early top 25 for the 2023 season, and it predicts Penn State will be right in the mix for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Penn State comes in just on the outside looking in on the playoff field, however, with a way-too-early ranking of no. 5.
“On paper, this looks like it could be [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag]’s most talented team in Happy Valley and is the first of three Big Ten squads inside our way-too-early top 5,” 247Sports suggests.
Yes, despite the lofty placement in the rankings organized by the staff at 247Sports, Penn State still comes in just behind the same two teams that stood in front of it in 2022, Ohio State and Michigan. The Buckeyes are no. 4 and the Wolverines are no. 3 in the 247Sports way-too-early top 25. The only other teams at the top of the poll are Alabama (no. 2) and Georgia (no. 1).
There is a lot to like about what Penn State could potentially do next season. With a good mix of rising star players on both sides of the football like running backs [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], Penn State already has playmakers in place on both sides of the line of scrimmage. And it will be bringing back some key players opting for another season including offensive lineman [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag].
And then there is the successor to Sean Clifford at quarterback, [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]. Allar is being widely regarded as one of the top quarterbacks ever to be recruited by Penn State, and scouts and analysts are equally excited to see Allar be the guy for the Penn State offense moving forward.
Penn State’s schedule is also a bit favorable as they will have to play at Ohio State but will get Michigan at home. The 2023 season begins with a home game against West Virginia on Sept. 2.
It will all be here before you know it, and it could be a fun season.
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