College GameDay podcast weighs in on who will win Oregon at Penn State

A huge showdown is on the docket for Week 5 in the Big Ten, as Oregon and Penn State are set to clash on Saturday. It’s a rematch of last year’s conference title game, which the Ducks won during their first season in the league.

It’s also the famed White-Out game for the Nittany Lions, as the game will take place in Happy Valley. Rece Davis and ESPN’s College GameDay will be in town, and he delivered a pick for the game ahead of all of the hoopla, along with Pete Thamel.

“College GameDay will be at Oregon–Penn State on Saturday morning. That’s a night game—the traditional whiteout, a clash of two top-six opponents who really haven’t been tested yet,” Davis prefaced, via the College GameDay Podcast. “I’ve said this several times on the pod, Pete. Neither of these teams has been tested. I went over the records of their opponents—it’s abysmal. But when you watch them both play, you know they’re good.

“This is a really important game. James Franklin has struggled in games like this, whether at home, away, or even in the postseason—though they did win a couple last year. So, what happens Saturday night in Happy Valley?”

Thamel is rocking with Penn State to get the win at home, even if they’ve been a bit underwhelming in 2025. He elaborated further.

“Well, I picked Penn State to win the national title. They were my No. 1 team going in. And I just don’t think we know much about them yet—not this version,” Thamel stated. “They’ve been perfectly functional so far. At this point in the season, you want to vibe on a team, and I just don’t have a vibe on Penn State. I don’t want to say they’ve underwhelmed or underperformed. They’ve been fine.

“If everything is going to change at Penn State, we need to see an edge. We need to see some swashbuckling, freewheeling energy in a big game that maybe hasn’t been there before. I think we’ll see it in the whiteout. And I think some of Oregon’s inexperience gets exposed late in Happy Valley. I’ve got Penn State winning the game.”

While Franklin holds just a 4-20 record against Top 10 opponents in his 12 seasons at the helm, this may be his best team yet. Davis is in agreement with Thamel, thinking the Nittany Lions break through their glass ceiling with a win.

“I won’t be surprised at all if Oregon wins. I think Oregon will make some explosive plays against the Penn State defense. But I actually believe in Penn State’s receivers,” Davis added. “What I need to see Saturday night—and what I’m banking on—comes down to two things: can Penn State run the ball, and can Drew Allar avoid the catastrophic ‘why-did-you-do-that?’ mistake?

“Last year against Oregon, they ran it extremely well. They had explosive runs—both Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton broke long ones. Even Drew Allar had a 22-yard run. They averaged nearly nine yards per carry. They’ll need that again.

“If Aller protects the ball and they run it like that, Penn State wins. I think they will. But I also think Oregon proves itself as a contender, too. It’ll be a close game, likely decided by a play or two. But I’m going with Penn State.”

Time will tell which team is successful in Week 5, but whether it’s Oregon or Penn State, the winner will be in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten moving forward. It’ll all come to a head Saturday night, as arguably the biggest game of the season will turn the tide of the 2025 campaign.