The No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions are set for a matchup against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night. Both of these Big Ten programs are performing at an elite level heading into the 2024 College Football Playoff. James Franklin and the Nittany Lions went 11-1 through the regular season, suffering just one loss to the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes. Dan Lanning and the Ducks are undefeated in the program’s first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Oregon is listed as a 3-point favorite over Penn State before kickoff of Saturday night’s Big Ten Championship Game.
On Saturday morning, the ESPN “College GameDay” crew released its predictions for Championship weekend.
Kirk Herbstreit picked No. 1 Oregon to continue its undefeated season with its 13th win and the program’s first Big Ten Championship title.
While Herbstreit is going with Oregon as his Big Ten title game prediction, he’s not discounting Penn State as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
“They’re kind of a kind of a team that feels a little bit forgotten,” Herbstreit said. “I think everybody assumed Ohio State would be there playing Oregon in a rematch. Ohio State lost [to Oregon] by one point. I think people, a lot of people, just aren’t really giving Penn State much credence after they lost to Ohio State at home. “… I think it’s going to be a much better game than a lot of people think.”
Saturday night’s game will kickoff at 8 p.m. EST from Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.