Penn State Makes College Football Playoff, Falls Short Of Title In College Football 25 Simulation

With the long-awaited arrival of EA Sports’ new College Football 25 video game finally over, die-hard fans all over the country have quickly rushed to take their favorite football teams to the coveted college football championship playoffs and beyond. Here at Onward State, we’re no different.

However, instead of manually playing games and hanging 100 points on the likes of Ohio State, we decided to run a completely automated computer simulation of the Nittany Lions 2024-25 season with the most current roster and coaches. The Nittany Lions finished the season 9-3 with a playoff loss to Notre Dame in Beaver Stadium.

If you’re interested in seeing just how Penn State lost to Ohio State in the virtual world, here’s how the season turned out.

Week One – Loss At West Virginia, 26-27 (0-1)

Coming into the opening week of the season, Penn State was ranked No. 7 in the country behind the likes of an 89 overall Drew Allar, a running back duo of 91 overall Nick Singleton and 88 overall Kaytron Allen, and a 92 overall Abdul Carter on the defensive side of the football. Note that these overalls are modified after simulated offseason training and applicable coach’s badges.

In game No. 1 on the road against West Virginia, the Nittany Lions suffered a 26-27 defeat after being outscored 10-3 in the fourth quarter. While Penn State had more total offense than West Virginia and over 100 yards more rushing, the Mountaineers dominated the game in the air with Penn State only converting on nine of its 19 third-down attempts.

Allar finished 23/32 with 236 yards, one touchdown, and one interception for a passer rating of 137.8. Singleton led the backfield with 154 rushing yards on 13 attempts, including one touchdown. Allen ran for 29 yards on nine attempts. Kobe King and Dom Deluca, with one interception each, highlighted the game defensively.

Week Two – Win Vs. Bowling Green, 27-20 (1-1)

Penn State came into its home opener ranked No. 18 in the country after its Week One loss to West Virginia. As the tunnel gates swung open and the players took the field amongst a rain of “We Are Penn State” chants, the Nittany Lions hoped for their first win.

Despite finding itself down 20-7 at the half, Penn State outscored Bowling Green 20-0 in the second half to come back and hold on for its first win. The Nittany Lions outperformed their opponent in every statistical column besides penalty yards and time of possession.

Allar went 17/27 with 219 yards passing and 53 yards rushing along with one touchdown for a rating of 143.3. Singleton once again controlled the ground game with 83 yards on 22 attempts and two touchdowns with Allen running only for seven yards on four attempts. Defensively, Dvon J-Thomas led the squad with eight solo tackles and one sack, earning him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Week Three – BYE

Week Four – Win Vs. Kent State 37-16 (2-1)

Ranked No. 11, the Nittany Lions took on their final out-of-conference opponent in Kent State after a bye week. Once again back in Beaver Stadium, the contest was met with overcast skies and rain, possibly limiting both teams on the offensive side of the ball.

In what turned out to be the squad’s first truly dominant game of the season, the Nittany Lions posted over 500 yards offensively with 23 first downs to Kent State’s eight as well as zero turnovers.

In his best game of the season so far, Allar went 24-34 with 291 yards passing and 34 yards rushing with two touchdowns for a rating of 161.8. While Singleton churned for the most yards with 130 on 18 attempts, it was Allen with two touchdowns on 56 yards and 10 attempts that did the most damage. Tony Rojas led the defense with four solo tackles.

Week Five – Win Vs. Illinois, 20-17 (3-1)

Penn State, ranked No. 10, welcomed Illinois to Beaver Stadium again for the conference opener.

A slow start for the Nittany Lions in this game didn’t deter them from taking home their first conference victory, however, with only 340 yards of total offense compared to previous games, this week’s outing was a bit lackluster.

Allar threw for 184 yards and one interception on 17/27 passing and a rating of 112.8 his lowest of the season. Singleton once again took home Player of the Game with 88 yards rushing on 18 attempts and one touchdown, with Allen picking up another touchdown on only 20 yards rushing. Defensively, Jalen Kimber led the team with eight solo tackles.

Week Six – Win Vs. UCLA, 22-17 (4-1)

Penn State was ranked No. 8 as it prepared to take on the first new addition to the Big Ten in UCLA. The Bruins were unranked heading into this game and sporting a 1-3 record.

The Nittany Lions were able to pull off another nail-biting win, this time with Allen winning Player of the Game for the first time this season.

Allar threw for an abysmal 70 yards on 8/15 passing for a rating of 92.5, his lowest thus far. Singleton once again led in the rushing department with 131 yards on 18 attempts. However, Allen’s 63 yards on 10 attempts and one touchdown took the spotlight. Kimber once again led the defense with 10 total tackles and a safety.

Week Seven – Loss At USC, 35-37 OT (4-2)

No. 7 Penn State took a road trip for the first time since Week One as it took on USC in California, another new addition to the Big Ten. The Trojans were 2-3 heading into the matchup.

Another close game this time didn’t go in the Nittany Lions’ favor as they fell in overtime by just two points, ending their four-game win streak.

Allar threw for 270 yards on 22/28 passing with one rushing touchdown, creating a rating of 159.5. Singleton ran for 94 yards on 17 attempts including one touchdown and one fumble, whereas Allen only rushed for 11 yards on six attempts. Kimber sat atop the defensive state sheet with nine total tackles in the loss.

Week Eight – BYE

Week Nine – Win At Wisconsin, 22-14 (5-2)

Coming off a loss and a one-week break, the Nittany Lions found themselves ranked No. 15 heading into a contest with the Badgers.

Despite being shut out in two separate quarters as well as being outscored in the fourth, the Nittany Lions prevailed for just their second away victory of the season. For the first time a Penn State receiver, Tyler Warren, won Player of the Game.

In a bit of a toss-up game for Allar, the junior threw for only 145 yards on 9/17 passing with two fumbles, though he boasted two touchdowns. Singleton ran for 106 yards on 20 attempts while Warren hauled in three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown. King was the leader defensively in the game, collecting seven total tackles.

Week 10 – Loss Vs. No. 4 OSU, 17-34 (5-3)

The No. 9 Nittany Lions traveled back to Beaver Stadium to take on the Buckeyes, their first-ranked opponent of the year. Ohio State was ranked No. 4 and held a record of 6-1 heading into the matchup.

After leading 17-10 at the half against the Buckeyes, in true Penn State fashion, the Nittany Lions were outscored 24-0 in the fourth quarter on their home turf.

Allar threw for 247 yards on 20/33 passing with one touchdown and one interception for a rating of 127.4. No running back rushed for over 30 yards in the contest, with a lone touchdown from Allen being the only bright spot. King totaled eight tackles to lead the defensive side of the ball.

Week 11 – Win Vs. Washington, 38-21 (6-3)

After a heartbreaking loss to Ohio State, the No. 18 Nittany Lions hoped to bounce back against Washington in the annual White Out game.

A much-needed big offensive day from the Nittany Lions put the unit back into the win column after the whiteout game, taking care of yet another new Big Ten addition.

In a bounce-back game for the Penn State backfield, Allar threw for 226 yards on 21/29 passing with four total touchdowns and a rating of 165.1. Singleton ran for 111 yards on 15 attempts with one touchdown as Allen brought up the rear with 36 yards of his own. Kimber again tallied the most tackles on defense with 10 as AJ Harris brought in three interceptions. However, it was Rojas who was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week with three tackles for loss.

Week 12 – Win At Purdue, 38-14 (6-3)

With only a few games left in the regular season, the Nittany Lions still found themselves on the outside looking in, ranked No. 14 heading into their contest with the Boilermakers.

Singleton won Player of the Game in the away outing against Purdue in another 30+ point offensive showcase.

Allar tossed three touchdowns on 15/22 passing for 163 yards, while Singleton added on yet another 100-yard rushing game, this time for 114 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Chauncy Carpenter (who doesn’t exist in real life) tallied a touchdown of his own on 67 yards rushing with King leading the way again defensively with eight total tackles and an interception.

Week 13 – Win At Minnesota, 22-20 (8-3)

Despite last week’s win, Penn State dropped in the rankings to No. 15 as it began to prepare for 2-8 Minnesota.

As the saying goes, a win is a win. Overlooking the narrow margin of victory, the Nittany Lions kept their playoff hopes alive as they took care of business against the Golden Gophers with Allar taking home Player of the Game.

Allar threw for 311 yards on 24/30 passing with one interception and a rushing touchdown, however once again, no running back rushed for more than 70 yards. Singleton led the way with 62 yards on 20 attempts while King topped the defensive stat sheet again with eight total tackles.

Week 14 – Win Vs. Maryland, 20-18 (9-3)

In the last game of the regular season, Penn State sat at No. 9 in the country, inside of the needed top 12 to make the College Football Playoff. Only one team now stood in its way: Maryland.

Allar came out on top as the Player of the Game after another close win for the Nittany Lions to close out their regular season at 9-3.

Allar threw for 228 yards on 17/24 passing with one touchdown and one interception with Singleton still held below 100 yards, this time churning for 85 on 14 attempts. Allen scored the lone touchdown from the running back room in the outing, supported by another 11 total tackles from King. Impressively, Carter took home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week with two sacks and seven tackles.

Week 15 – BYE

Week 16 – Conference Championships

Penn State did not make the conference championship, finishing third place in the Big Ten behind No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Oregon.

However most notably, Carter won the award for the best defensive end in the country, and kicker Chase Meyer won the Lou Garza award, given to the best kicker in the country, after going 31/34 on FGs on the year.

Bowl Week – Loss Vs. Notre Dame, 29-37

Landing at No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff poll, Penn State found itself taking on No. 9 Notre Dame in the first round of the newly expanded playoff.

However, Penn State did not last long in the playoffs, bouncing out in the first round against the Fighting Irish.

Allar threw for a season-best 401 yards on 23/33 passing with three touchdowns and one interception for a rating of 195.7. Singleton was non-existent in the game, tallying only 19 yards on seven attempts, shadowed by the 76 yards from Allen on the same number of attempts.

Final Season Stats

All in all, Penn State finished 9-4 and ranked No. 11 in the country with new Big Ten addition Oregon taking home the national championship. KJ Winston was the lone Nittany Lion to receive an All-American distinction, finding himself on the second team.

The following are the final stat lines from the most notable players this season.

Allar: 2,991 yards, 240/351, 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 151.3 rating, 343 yards rush, three rushing touchdowns

Singleton: 211 carries, 1,199 yards, seven touchdowns, one fumble

Allen: 93 carries, 429 yards, six touchdowns, one Fumble

Liam Clifford: 54 rec. 671 yards, six touchdowns

King: 87 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions

Carter: 64 Tackles, 23 TFL, 5.5 sacks