What are Penn State's odds to win the 2024 national championship?
Penn State’s 2023 college football season may have just wrapped up, but sportsbooks across the country aren’t wasting any time when it comes to future odds for the 2024 season.
As fans are well aware by now, the 2024 season is set to see some major changes across the sport. In addition to a 12-team playoff, the nation’s top two conferences, the SEC and Big Ten, will add multiple marquee programs. In the SEC, both Texas and Oklahoma will join, while the Big Ten is set to add four teams from the West Coast in Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. Four other former Pac-12 teams – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah – will head to the Big 12, with Cal, SMU and Stanford set to begin play in the ACC.
The spring transfer portal will likely have an impact on the nation’s top contenders, but as of now, Penn State holds 25-1 odds to win the College Football Playoff national championship at the majority of sportsbooks. BetRivers, which originally installed the Lions at 30-1 back on Tuesday, has now dropped them to 20-1. DraftKings has the Lions slightly higher at 22-1, with ESPNBet, BetMGM and FanDuel all listing PSU at 25-1.
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Penn State’s 2024 schedule features a handful of matchups that should have fans excited. The Nittany Lions will kick off their season on the road next year, traveling to West Virginia to wrap up a home-and-home series with the Mountaineers. Neal Brown’s team exceeded expectations in 2023, finishing 9-4. They also ranked No. 25 in the country in the final AFCA Coaches Poll.
The Lions will follow that up with four straight games at home, beginning with Bowling Green on Sept. 7. They’ll have the first of two bye weeks early in the year on Sept. 14, followed by one more nonconference game against Kent State on Sept. 21.
Penn State’s conference slate kicks off Sept. 28 when Illinois returns to Beaver Stadium for the first time since 2021 when the Illini knocked off the Lions in nine overtimes. UCLA will be Penn State’s first game against the West Coast teams when the Bruins come to Happy Valley on Oct. 5.
That game kicks off a fun stretch in October and November. Following Chip Kelly’s return to Pennsylvania, Penn State will travel out to Los Angeles on Oct. 12 to face USC for the first time since the 2017 Rose Bowl. PSU will then have its second bye week before traveling to Wisconsin on Oct. 26.
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The two biggest games of the season are in early November, with Ohio State traveling to Beaver Stadium on Nov. 2. That’ll be the last time Penn State plays the Buckeyes at home until 2028. The Lions will then get an opportunity at this year’s runner-up in the CFP national championship when Washington comes to State College on Nov. 9.
The final three games of the season will feature two more road trips, beginning with Purdue on Nov. 16, followed by Minnesota on Nov. 23. Penn State will then wrap up the regular season at home against Maryland on Nov. 30.
Following Nick Saban’s retirement earlier this week, the odds have shifted quite a bit among the SEC’s top schools, but the conference still has five schools that currently rank among the 10 favorites to win it all next season. As most would expect, Georgia is the favorite with odds in the +350 to +375 range.
Alabama opened around +500 at most places but that’s now dropped considerably. You can find the Tide anywhere from +550 at BetMGM to +1100 at BetRivers following the announcement that Kalen DeBoer will take over the program. Texas is next with odds at +900 at most books, followed by LSU, which ranges from +1200 to +1600, and Ole Miss, +1100 to +1600.
Currently, three Big Ten schools have better odds than Penn State to win it all next year, with Ohio State listed as the favorite. You can find the Buckeyes from +550 to +600. Michigan ranges is next at +1000 to +1200, with Oregon third. The Ducks can be found as los +700 at BetRivers and as high as +1200 at DraftKings.
