Penn State’s way-too-early record prediction from 247Sports

The start of a new college football season in Happy Valley is still a little down the road, but the next 185 days are going to fly by faster than you realize. You know, just in case you are not counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until Penn State kicks off the 2024 season in Morgantown against the West Virginia Mountaineers. But now that spring football is just around the corner and the college basketball season is winding down, now feels as good a time as any to start taking a pulse on what to expect from Penn State and other teams around the Big Ten this fall. After all, there is a lot to look forward to with the conference expanding with four new members and the College Football Playoff field being expanded, perhaps at a good time for this year’s Nittany Lions.

247Sports college football writer Brad Crawford has shared his way-too-early wins and losses predictions for each Big Ten team in 2024, and he has Penn State looking like it may be in the playoff discussion. Of course, going off of Crawford’s way-too-early bowl projections for 2024 immediately following the 2023 bowl season suggests he is sticking with Penn State sitting on the outside of the playoff looking in.

“There might not be a Big Ten better-suited for playoff expansion than Penn State, which would already have made several appearances given all the top 15 finishes under James Franklin,” Crawford said. “Theoretically, the Nittany Lions could lose two of their three toughest matchups this fall — USC and Ohio State — and still look great in the eyes of the selection committee if they’ve handled business elsewhere.”

Crawford goes on to suggest Penn State may be out of the running for the Big Ten championship game with two losses on its record, but that may not be as much of a concern when it comes to the playoff discussion.

The College Football Playoff is expanded from four teams to 12 teams this season. The top five-ranked conference champions will get an automatic berth in the playoff and seven spots will remain up for grabs. If Penn State goes 10-2, then there is probably a good chance Penn State will be in striking distance of its first trip to the College Football Playoff.

Crawford has Ohio State and Big Ten newcomer Oregon as the top two teams in the Big Ten this season, and that is an idea that many seem to be bringing into the new season after last season. Ohio State is expected to be reloading with a top-tier Big Ten contender this year, and Oregon is coming off a season that would have been worthy of a playoff opportunity if not losing its only two games of the year to rival Washington, once in the regular season and again in the final Pac-12 championship game (Washington is also joining the Big Ten this season, along with USC and UCLA; Penn State will host UCLA and Washington and visit USC this fall).

Crawford predicts defending Big Ten and national champion Michigan will be on the losing end of three games this season, with two of those coming in Big Ten play. Michigan hosts Texas and the Wolverines will face USC, Washington, Oregon, and Ohio State. Penn State will not play Michigan this season (Here is Penn State’s 2024 football schedule).

Penn State will kick off the 2024 season on the road at West Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 31. A specific kickoff time has yet to be revealed, but it may be a good guess the game will get a primetime slot after the two teams opened the season under the lights last season in Beaver Stadium for the season opener.