In the mind of one notable college football insider, the Penn State Nittany Lions and LSU Tigers have been the winners of the offseason as we close in on the spring.
While Penn State and LSU are two of college football’s biggest brands, the programs had very different results in 2024. The Nittany Lions came up one win short of reaching the National Championship game. LSU, on the other hand, took a step back in year three for Brian Kelly by finishing 9-4.
Despite the differences in how their seasons ended, both programs were expected to be active this offseason to bolster and improve their rosters and coaching staffs. Well, on Monday CBS Sports college football insider John Talty explained why he believes the Tigers made some major moves that make them one of the biggest winners of the offseason thus far.
“Other than the significant blow of losing No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood to Michigan, LSU may have had the best offseason of any program. You can even argue losing Underwood and the requisite money it would have taken to sign him allowed LSU to be more aggressive (and successful) in the portal,” Talty wrote. “The Tigers signed the No. 1 transfer class, headlined by three top 15 transfers in Oklahoma receiver Nic Anderson, Florida State edge-rusher Patrick Payton and Northwestern offensive lineman Josh Thompson.
“Beyond simply upgrading the player talent, Kelly also added multiple veteran coaches like former Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and former Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry. Add all that plus QB Garrett Nussmeier’s return and there’s reason to feel bullish about a resurgence in Baton Rouge.”
- LSU record (2024): 9-4 (5-3 in the SEC)
Could Penn State be third straight Big Ten team to win a National Championship?
However, LSU isn’t the only big winner this offseason. Talty believes a case could be made that Penn State has a chance to be the third straight Big Ten school to win it all next season.
“James Franklin pulled off perhaps the biggest staffing coup of the offseason when he swiped defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from national champion Ohio State,” Talty wrote. “It was a strong response to losing Tom Allen to Clemson and showed how intent Penn State is in putting serious resources behind the program. So, too, did retaining stars like quarterback Drew Allar, running back Nick Singleton and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
- Penn State record (2024): 13-3 (8-1 in the Big Ten)
“After back-to-back “Last Dance” style approaches working for Big Ten programs, could Penn State be the third in a row to win it all? We’d still like to see Penn State add at least one more viable, proven receiver to the mix, especially after losing Harrison Wallace to Ole Miss, but it’s been a very good offseason in State College.”
PSU fans will be hoping Talty is on to something with his thoughts about the Lions’ title potential.