College football preview: Ohio State still loaded, Clemson is back, and there’s another Manning under center

Expectations are enormous at Penn State following last year’s run to the semifinals. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in the preseason mainly because they have 15 starters back, including quarterback Drew Allar, and plenty of offensive and defensive linemen. Their schedule is manageable — host Oregon, visit Ohio State, don’t play Michigan — and they added former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to run the defense. Strong.

But what about the competition? Who stands most in Penn State’s way of ending a championship drought that could reach 40 years next season?

Here are 25-ish things to know about the upcoming season.

1. This is the first time Texas has ever been ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll. Kind of remarkable considering its history. Anyway, it’ll get tested right out of the gate with a visit to No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday. The Longhorns are 2.5-point underdogs.

2. Texas’ Arch Manning, the latest progeny from the royal quarterbacking family, is the preseason Heisman favorite at +750. Manning is the son of Cooper Manning and nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning. Note that the last preseason favorite to win the Heisman was Marcus Mariota in 2014. When Eagles WR DeVonta Smith won it in 2020, he had odds as high as 100-1 before the season.

2a. After Manning, the top of the Heisman odds list includes Clemson QB Cade Klubnik (+900), LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier (+900), Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (+1200), and Alabama QB Ty Simpson (+1600). Penn State QB Drew Allar is +1800. Lions RB Nick Singleton is 300-1.

» READ MORE: Can Drew Allar take the next step amid Penn State’s big expectations?

3. Manning isn’t on the Archie Manning Award’s preseason watch list because he played sparingly in his first two seasons at Texas. The award is named for his grandfather, who starred at Ole Miss from 1968-70. Simpson, Alabama’s quarterback, also isn’t on the Manning Award’s preseason list.

4. Defending champ Ohio State is going with redshirt freshman QB Julian Sayin to make his first career start against Texas. While the importance of the regular season has been diminished by playoff expansion — the 2024 Buckeyes are Exhibit A of that — there’s still plenty of interest when No. 1 plays No. 3.

5. It’ll still be a 12-team playoff, but the seeding method has changed. Now, the top four seeds will receive a bye in the first round. Last season, the four highest-ranked conference champions received first-round byes, which included ninth-ranked Boise State and 12th-ranked Arizona State.

6. The playoff’s schedule format remains: the first-round games are on campus sites and the next six are at neutral site/bowl games. This season’s championship is Jan. 19 just outside of Miami.

7. Arizona State returns nine starters on defense and, at No. 11, has its highest preseason ranking in 27 years. The Sun Devils had a terrific turnaround in 2024 when they went from 3-9 the previous season to 11-3 and a playoff spot. ASU lost stud running back Cam Skattebo to the NFL (fourth round, Giants), but will have Kyson Brown, Raleek Brown, and Army transfer Kanye Udoh to help fill the void. Udoh, who is from Mays Landing and went to St. Augustine Prep, ran for 1,117 yards for the Black Knights last season.

» READ MORE: College football: Temple is eager to (literally) put its past run of losing football seasons to bed.

8. Army-Navy is in Baltimore this season and the Meadowlands next year. The game comes back to Philadelphia in 2027.

9. No. 9 LSU is at No. 4 Clemson on Saturday (Aug. 30) in one of the better opening-week games. Archbishop Wood’s Markus Dixon, a sophomore who played 10 games for Clemson last year, has switched from tight end to defensive end.

10. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has since softened his statement that his team will be the first ever to go 16-0, but you can be certain LSU still heard it. Clemson opened last season against another SEC team when the Tigers were drubbed by Georgia, 34-3. Clemson has lost three of its last four opening games.

11. The practice of feigning injuries should be reduced with the rule that teams will be charged a timeout if a player goes down injured after the ball has been spotted for the next play. A 5-yard penalty will be assessed if a team is out of timeouts.

12. Good luck to Delaware, which is transitioning from FCS to FBS. The Blue Hens will play in Conference USA and make nonconference visits to Colorado and Wake Forest. They’ll also play at conference favorite Liberty. FanDuel has Delaware’s over/under win prop at 4.5. The Hens were 9-2 last season.

13. Temple’s line is 3.5 wins. Penn State’s is 10.5.

14. Kent State has the lowest over/under on the board at 1.5. The Golden Flashes were 0-12 in 2024 and dead last out of 134 teams in average points scored (13.9) and average points allowed (44.1). They fired their coach, Kenni Burns, in April for alleged “questionable financial transactions” among other transgressions, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

» READ MORE: Penn State football has four players named to the preseason AP All-America team

14a. Kent State opens with Merrimack, an FCS school that went 5-6 last season. Kent State’s football program, which has Texas Tech, Florida State, and Oklahoma on the schedule this year, was described in an Athlon Sports preview as “the worst situation in all of FBS football.”

15. Illinois has 16 returning starters and, at No. 12, is ranked among the preseason top 15 for the first time in 35 years. Florida State transfer Tomiwa Durojaiye, a Philadelphia native who played at Middletown (Del.) High, is in the defensive-line rotation. Durojaiye, whose full name is pronounced Toe-me-wah Durr-oh-jy-yay, is at his fourth school in four years.

16. Florida State was ranked 10th in the preseason last year. The Seminoles went 2-10, their worst season in 50 years. Coach Mike Norvell brought in Gus Malzahn to run the offense and possibly save his job. FSU’s projected win total prop is 7.5.

17. North Carolina’s win prop, 7.5, feels inflated by the addition of head coach Bill Belichick. The Tar Heels have 70 new players — SEVENTY! — which includes 30 freshmen and 40 transfers. One of the freshmen is linebacker Jake Bauer from Malvern Prep. One of the transfers is defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson, a Camden native who played for Arizona the last two seasons.

17a. “We’ll be watching film together and he’ll make a joke and you laugh a little bit,” said North Carolina QB Gio Lopez, a transfer from South Alabama. “And then you laugh a lot harder because you’re like, ‘Wow, Coach Belichick said that.’”

18. Freshman offensive lineman Michael Carroll, who played at La Salle College High, has opened some eyes during training camp at Alabama. Position coach Chris Kapilovic told the Tuscaloosa News that Carroll is “freakishly athletic. … The more he plays with technique, the better he becomes. That’s the part we’re trying to grow.”

19. Also, be on the lookout for a couple other locals when Alabama visits Florida State on Saturday. Safety Keon Sabb (Glassboro, Williamstown H.S.), a redshirt junior, is part of an experienced secondary and freshman Lotzeir Brooks (Millville H.S.) is a wide receiver. Sabb was named preseason third-team all-conference.

20. The schools might not love it, but plenty of alumni and fans are embracing the renewal of the “Catholics vs. Convicts” rivalry when No. 6 Notre Dame plays at No. 10 Miami on Sunday night (Aug. 31). ESPN did a wonderful documentary on the rivalry in 2016.

21. A couple of locals are on the Notre Dame roster, including senior linebacker Jerry Rullo from Penn Charter. Rullo, who saw his first game action last season, is one of the more popular players on the team. He also helps send in the defensive signals from the sidelines and probably will be a coach one day, if he wants.

» READ MORE: Penn Charter grad and Notre Dame walk-on Jerry Rullo is more than just a ‘Rudy’ story

22. Also part of the Irish squad are freshmen offensive lineman Peter Jones (Malvern Prep) and linebacker Anthony Sacca (St. Joe’s Prep).

23. Miami’s David Blay Jr. is another interesting story. He played at Truman High School in Levittown and started his college career at Division II West Chester. Then he played two seasons at Louisiana Tech before transferring to Miami. Blay will be part of the Hurricanes’ rotation at defensive tackle. One of his position coaches is Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor. Neat.

23a. Blay was “everything we expected when we signed him in the portal,” Taylor told the Miami Herald. “Big, strong, physical, played a lot of football.” Blay had 6.5 sacks last season for La. Tech and was first team C-USA.

24. Linebacker Mo Toure, who endured two ACL tears in his six years at Rutgers, is healthy again and playing this year for Miami. Toure was a senior at Pleasantville High School in 2018, and he admits he almost gave up the game after his injury in 2024.

24a. “I had a reality check,” Toure told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I had to remember who I was, remember [we] have a purpose in this life. … You can’t give up on things. What kind of tone am I setting for my son or for my brothers? For younger kids that look up to me? Just give up when things get tough? No. You’ve got to keep going, keep pushing through hard times, and you can’t let anything break you.”

25. The Pick: Clemson finally joined the party and started signing players out of the transfer portal, so the Tigers should put an end to their slump of consecutive four-loss seasons. The returning talent isn’t bad either, led by QB Cade Klubnik. LSU is the Tigers’ toughest game. Clemson doesn’t play Miami in the regular season and gets SMU at home. Hard to say the Tigers will go 16-0, but they don’t have to in order to win their third title under Swinney.

***

Saturday, Aug. 30

No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State

No. 8 Alabama at Florida State

No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson

Sunday, Aug. 31

No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami

Saturday, Sept. 13

No. 15 Florida at No. 9 LSU

Villanova at No. 2 Penn State

Saturday, Sept. 20

No. 15 Florida at No. 10 Miami

Saturday, Sept. 27

No. 7 Oregon at No. 2 Penn State

No. 8 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia

Saturday, Oct. 4

No. 1 Texas at No. 15 Florida

Saturday, Oct. 11

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 18 Oklahoma

No. 12 Illinois at No. 3 Ohio State

No. 13 South Carolina at No. 9 LSU

Saturday, Oct. 18

No. 16 SMU at No. 4 Clemson

USC at No. 6 Notre Dame

Saturday, Oct. 25

No. 8 Alabama at No. 13 South Carolina

Saturday, Nov. 1

No. 2 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State

No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 15 Florida

Saturday, Nov. 8

No. 9 LSU at No. 8 Alabama

No. 20 Indiana at No. 2 Penn State

Saturday, Nov. 15

No. 1 Texas at No. 5 Georgia

No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 8 Alabama

Saturday, Nov. 29

No. 4 Clemson at No. 13 South Carolina

No. 8 Alabama at Auburn

No. 14 Michigan at No. 3 Ohio State

No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 9 LSU

Friday, Dec. 5

American Conference Championship

Mountain West Championship

Saturday, Dec. 6

ACC Championship

Big 12 Championship

SEC Championship

Saturday, Dec. 13

Army vs. Navy (at Baltimore), 3 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 19

One first-round game, campus site

Saturday, Dec. 20

Three first-round games, campus sites

Wednesday, Dec. 31

Cotton Bowl (playoff quarterfinal), 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 1

Orange Bowl (playoff quarterfinal), noon

Rose Bowl (playoff quarterfinal), 4 p.m.

Sugar Bowl (playoff quarterfinal), 8 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 8

Fiesta Bowl (playoff semifinal), 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 9

Peach Bowl (playoff semifinal), 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 19

National Championship/At Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Twitter/X — @EdBarkowitz