The Penn State Nittany Lions have their eyes on potentially winning a national championship this season and a lot of voters in The Associated Press poll believe it can happen, too. While the Texas Longhorns secured the No.

Penn State is one of six Big Ten teams in the AP preseason top 25. Illinois is ranked No. 12, Michigan came in at No. 14, and Indiana sits at No. 20. For the fifth consecutive season, I’m excited to be an AP top 25 voter. I ranked Penn State No. 1 on my preseason ballot, followed by Clemson, Texas, Ohio State and Notre Dame.

The longer Penn State quarterback Drew Allar weighed his options, the more he thought how sweet it would be to bring a national championship to Happy Valley. After No. 2 Penn State’s down-to-the-wire loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal last season,

The Nittany Lions should be strong defensively again. This team has talented returners everywhere you look. And now, they've got a good omen: Penn State opened the season ranked No. 2 in the AP Top-25 preseason poll. Why's that matter?

Texas and Penn State, the top two teams in The Associated Press preseason Top 25, each had three players selected for the preseason AP All-America

Texas edged Penn State for the No. 1 ranking and earned the top spot in the preseason Top 25 poll for the first time in program history.