See where ESPN ranks Penn State football heading into 2024

Since 2016, James Franklin has led Penn State football to be a top-ranked program annually, earning numerous 11-win seasons, New Year’s Six bowl victories, a Big Ten title, and several top-10 and top-15 finishes. While the Nittany Lions are still without a CFP appearance, ESPN thinks that could change later this year — here is where they rank Penn State in their initial way-too-early rankings for the coming 2024 season.

Penn State football ranked among top teams by ESPN SP+ rankings

Penn State football has a tough schedule in 2024, but it’s not one that will hold the Nittany Lions back. The Nittany Lions get UCLA and Ohio State at home in October and November but will face a series of road tests against teams like West Virginia, Southern California, Wisconsin, and more. With the Big Ten and CFP expanding, and the loss of divisions, the Nittany Lions will have more opportunities to get into the conference championship game and 12-team College Football Playoff.

Per the ESPN SP+ rankings, Penn State football is projected to be the No. 4 team in the Big Ten and the No. 7 team nationally. Within the conference, the Nittany Lions rank behind Ohio State (2), Oregon (3), and Michigan (5). Of course, being ranked 7th in the country should be enough to get into the CFP this fall, even with a 10-2 record and no conference title, if Penn State is to hit that mark once again.

Nittany Lions could make CFP despite tough schedule for the 2024 season

ESPN also projects Penn State football to be one of the best defensive teams once again, even under a new coordinator and with the loss of a few top players. Per the initial SP+ projections, the Nittany Lions check in as the 4th-ranked defense in the country.

It’s also worth noting that there are another two Big Ten teams in ESPN’s initial top-25 rankings: Southern California (23) and the Wisconsin Badgers (25). Of the conference’s six ranked teams, Penn State football will face three of them on top of matchups against a West Virginia team that won nine games last year and the defending PAC-12 Champions and National Champion runners-up: Washington.

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