Penn State Football Odds: Win Total, CFP, Big Ten, National Championship

The Penn State Nittany Lions enter the 2024 College Football season among the favorites to win it all off the back of a 10-3 season.

Head coach James Franklin returns many of the key players from last season, and a few high-profile transfers arrived to further help the team as it attempts to make the expanded College Football Playoff and get back to being one of the top programs in College Football.

QB Drew Allar, RBs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, DL Abdul Carter, LB Dominic DeLuca and S Jaylen Reed all return, and the key transfers include former Ohio State WR Julian Fleming, former Florida CB Jalen Kimber and former Georgia CB AJ Harris.

Entering the season with the same core players as last season with the addition of proven talents puts Penn State in a good spot entering the season. The Nittany Lions face only two teams who were ranked in the preseason AP Poll, so the team should aim to improve upon its already impressive record from last season.

Penn State Regular Season Win Total O/U

• Over 9.5: -170
• Under 9.5: +140

Based on its preseason total wins line, Penn State is slated to be among the best teams in College Football this season. Their relatively easy schedule - as mentioned, they only face two teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll - is likely why the Over has such short odds.

The ranked opponents they face are USC (on Oct. 12) and Ohio State (on Nov. 2). They also have tough matchups against West Virginia in Week 1, Illinois in Week 4, UCLA in Week 5, and Washington in Week 9, but given the Nittany Lions' experienced roster, they should win the vast majority of their games.

Penn State Big Ten Championship Odds

• To Win Big Ten Championship: +450

Penn State has the third-shortest odds to win the Big Ten Championship entering the 2024 season. Although last season's College Football Playoff finalists - Michigan and Washington - are both in the conference after the Huskies joined from the Pac-12, those teams are rebuilding which opens the door for the Nittany Lions.

In the odds, Penn State sits behind only Ohio State (+150) and new arrivals Oregon (+200), who also joined from the Pac-12. Penn State has not been to the Big Ten title game since 2016 - Franklin's third season in charge - and playing in the conference's East Division with Ohio State and Michigan has made things difficult in recent years.

Penn State CFP Odds

• To Make the Playoffs: -140
• To Miss the Playoffs: +110

The odds indicate that Penn State is more likely to make the CFP than to miss out, and they join Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Ohio State and Oregon as the only teams with that designation.

Penn State is one of the teams that will seriously benefit from the CFP's expansion to 12 teams. As mentioned, Michigan and Ohio State have blocked Penn State's path for most of the last decade, and this change gives the team a better chance to make waves in the postseason.

Penn State National Championship Odds

• To Win Outright: +2200

Penn State has the eighth-shortest odds to win the 2024 National Championship. They trail Georgia (+280), Ohio State (+400), Oregon (+700), Texas (+850), Alabama (+1200), Ole Miss (+1400) and LSU (+1800).

With a light schedule and plenty of returning stars - including at QB - Penn State could hold up better than most other teams late in the regular season and beyond.

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Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.