Penn State football checks in near top of Big Ten preseason rankings

The 2024 college football season unofficially gets underway this week with Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festivities kick off on Tuesday, with James Franklin and the representatives from the Penn State football program – Dvon J-Thomas, Tyler Warren, and Jaylen Reed – heading inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday.

To start the week, we learned more about what the media expects from the Nittany Lions on the field this fall. On Monday, the Kings of the North podcast released its unofficial 2024 Big Ten preseason rankings. The conference does not do an official preseason poll at Big Ten Media Days.

2024 Big Ten Preseason Rankings

Collectively, the 33 media voters from across the conference have high expectations for James Franklin and Penn State football this season. The full predicted Big Ten standings for the new 18-team league are as follows:

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Penn State
4. Michigan
5. Iowa
6. USC
7. Wisconsin
8. Nebraska
9. Rutgers
10. Washington
11. Maryland
12. Minnesota
13. UCLA
14. Illinois
15. Michigan State
16. Northwestern
17. Indiana
18. Purdue

“I think Penn State is probably the logical third-place team,” Kings of the North co-host Bill Landis said. “I don’t think people generally are thinking about Iowa in the same way that you have sort of expressed over the last few weeks. So maybe you can make an argument for Iowa to be that high, just based off like schedule and who they play and all that stuff.

“But I think like the combination of Penn State having a fairly easy schedule if you take a second to look at it, and the idea that Michigan is probably going to take like a slight step back this year and Jim Harbaugh is gone and they’re like remaking a lot. I’m not surprised to see Penn State third there at all.”

Other Penn State football preseason buzz

© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

While voters in the Kings of the North’s 2024 Big Ten preseason poll like Penn State to be among the league’s top teams, most do not feel confident in the Nittany Lions’ odds of ascending into the conference title game. Only two voters put James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship (earning the third most votes), but falling to Ohio State in both instances.

The most prominent Big Ten Championship Game outcome was Ohio State over Oregon, receiving 24 votes.  Oregon defeating Ohio State earned six votes.

However, the majority of voters, 64%, still feel Penn State will make the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff.

“I’m a little surprised that the Penn State percentage isn’t higher only because I just have a very hard time seeing Penn State being anything worse than 10-2,” Landis said. “I guess James Franklin could pull off a nine 9-3. So, I thought that percentage might have been higher.”

Individually, Adbul Carter came in at sixth place for preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. The linebacker-turned-edge rusher earned two first-place votes.

Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen, and Nicholas Singleton received some recognition on the offensive side, but none were among the top vote-getters.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation! Please follow us on all of our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube) and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on our social media.