When time expired in the Orange Bowl, Penn State center Nick Dawkins watched Notre Dame celebrate. That loss nearly eight months ago extended the narrative that coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions can’t win big games, one that continued through this offseason.
But Dawkins, Penn State’s sixth-year senior captain, said he couldn’t care less. The only narrative that matters to Penn State this season comes from inside the locker room.
“I’ve said this before: It is no longer, and it is not, the idea of proving other people wrong,” Dawkins said. “It is the idea of proving ourselves right.”
As Penn State prepares to play its first game since the Orange Bowl, Dawkins essentially told the media in a Zoom call this week that Penn State’s time is now. The second-ranked Nittany Lions, who open their 2025 season Saturday against Nevada, have put in countless hours of work since January to prepare for an even deeper College Football Playoff run in 2025. Dawkins made an analogy to which fans can relate.
“[We have] put so much time into the process. And what is the process? Consistent and daily deposits of work,” Dawkins said. “Consistent daily deposits of intentional effort into being the best. So you add those, they compound. It’s like interest. You compound every single day, the work, the intention, the study, the film, the investment into your body, and what do you have?”
He described the product like this.
“I’ve said it before: Iron sharpens iron, as a good man does a good man, as a good friend does a good friend. We have the most cohesive group in the country. I will take that to the bank and run with it.”
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The Orange Bowl hurt. Dawkins said that, after the loss to Notre Dame, a group of players sat in a south Florida hotel room and reflected on the loss. The mood was somber. “You don’t just accept that until you have an opportunity to make it right,” Dawkins said.
The nearly eight months since the Orange Bowl have been about that. Defensive tackle Zane Durant emphasized that he feels good entering the season, not only about himself but also the team as a whole. He’s also a firm believer that Penn State will know the result of its preparations once the team steps into Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
“I mean, the ultimate test is a game,” Durant said. “So, I mean, we’re going to find out this Saturday. I feel good about it. I think the guys feel good about it. So we just got to get out there and show it.”
Running back Nicholas Singleton, who amassed 117 total yards and three touchdowns in the Orange Bowl, said he is eager to play as well after nearly eight months of reflection. Singleton, who was very emotional following the Orange Bowl loss, said that has added motivation.
“Yeah, we’re excited to get out there this Saturday to play a game,” Singleton said. “Obviously we’ve been amped up ever since last year with the loss [to Notre Dame]. The mindset has been really different. We’ve just been more motivated.”
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In addition to Singleton, linebacker Tony Rojas said he’s eager to get back on the field. The junior said following Wednesday’s practice that there’s still “bad blood” from the Orange Bowl, even though the game is completely in the team’s rearview mirror. He also said that Penn State has come into this season with the right mindset and “approached the summer and offseason the right way.”
“Yeah, obviously it hurts, but at the end of the day, we grow from it, we learn from it, and now we know how we have to execute and what we have to prepare in order to get past those types of games,” Rojas said.
So is Penn State ready to step back on the field nearly eight months after one of the toughest losses in program history? Third-year captain Dom DeLuca captured the team’s mood in just five words after practice Wednesday.
“I’m just worried about Nevada,” DeLuca said.
Penn State and Nevada kick off the 2025 season at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on CBS.
