What will Penn State's final record be this college football season?

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The time for previewing the college football season and the Penn State Nittany Lions has come to an end. The season is here and it is time to officially go on the record with some predictions for the football season. After all this time reviewing the Nittany Lions, it is still a bit of a mystery just what this team will be capable of achieving in the fall, which makes forecasting their season a bit of a struggle. A relatively favorable schedule and a solid roster has some thinking this could be a solid year in Happy Valley.

Is it playoff-worthy? That remains to be seen. According to our final record predictions, however, it appears Penn State could be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff into November. That would certainly be an improvement from last season's debacle of a season.

Here are our predictions for Penn State's regular-season record in the 2026 college football season.

Kevin McGuire, Lead Writer: 9-3

I am admittedly guilty of being a bit overconfident with my Penn State final record predictions on a pretty regular basis. Every year I get closer to the start of the season and start to look through a rosy filter, thinking about the best-case scenarios. But in my defense, my final records have tended to be pretty accurate over the years. But last season broke me, as was the case for many. I look at this team that has been assembled and the schedule in front of it and see the ceiling at 11 wins under the best conditions. That includes winning at home against USC and splitting the road trips to Michigan and Washington.

But my realistic expectations is that Penn State drops each of those road games against the Wolverines and Huskies and then drops one other game somewhere in the mix. It could be the road game in Northwestern's new stadium or the home game against the Trojans in the Whiteout. A 9-3 record won't get Penn State into the College Football Playoff or keep them in the Big Ten title hunt, but 10-2 could be a very different story. I'll play the safe route with a 9-3 season that sends Penn State to a decent bowl game at the end of the year and sets the stage for Matt Campbell's second season with playoff expectations.

Paul White, Contributor: 9-3

Really, I could see this team winning 10 or more games, but that would be tough to do with a new head coach. Michigan and USC seem like the only teams that jump off the page at first glance, so Penn State has a path to a double-digit win season. But they could easily drop a winnable game along the way as they build cohesion with each other.

Christopher Sheppard, Contributor: 10-2

While it's easy to say Penn State’s schedule is the most favorable in the conference, we simply do not know the potential of this team under Matt Campbell. They either could be in the hunt to go undefeated or struggle against the three ranked opponents they face. I lean toward the former, but a late-season stretch against Michigan, USC, and Washington could trip them up. I could see them steal one of these games, and maybe even two. But not three with this much uncertainty around them. Whether that will be enough for a surprise playoff push? We’ll have to see.

Be sure to check out our Big Ten championship and national championship predictions for the upcoming season.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: What will Penn State's final record be this college football season?

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos