With the 2024 college football regular season already in the rearview mirror and the Oregon Ducks crowned the champions of the Big Ten, the conference released its 2025 schedule on Wednesday afternoon. With the conference expanded to 18 teams, schedule releases are more important than ever because teams can get favorable, lopsided schedules like Indiana did in 2024, avoiding Oregon and Penn State on its way to 11-1 and a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Penn State also had a favorable draw in 2024, playing just two teams that finished ranked in the final CFP top 25, Ohio State and Illinois. The Nittany Lions avoided Michigan and Oregon, the latter until the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night, a 45-37 Ducks win, and also claimed an at-large bid into the playoff. Schedule release day isn’t always predictive, because this time last year, drawing Michigan and Washington for 2024 would have looked like a nightmare, but both teams struggled to become bowl-eligible. Still, it can provide some clarity to the future of the program, and now, we get to take a sneak peek at the 2025 Penn State football season.