Penn State football to play in two of the top Big Ten games in 2024

The Penn State football team has an exciting slate of Big Ten games ahead of them this fall. Including games against Big Ten newcomers UCLA, Washington, and USC. But there is one common thorn in the side for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions as they will host Ohio State. Now, this college football analyst believes Penn State is set to play in two of the biggest games in the Big Ten in 2024.

Penn State football has a unique chance to flip the script in 2024. A year where James Franklin is under some serious pressure to deliver more on-the-field results. The Nittany Lions will host Ohio State in early November in a game where Jesse Simonton of On3 ranked the match-up at No. 3 in his list of Top 10 conference games on the Big Ten schedule in 2024.

“Is this the year James Franklin gets the monkey off his back and starts winning an upset or two that spurs the Nittany Lions back to the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2016?

“Franklin is (in)famously just 4-16 against Michigan and Ohio State. The Wolverines aren’t on the schedule this fall, but the Buckeyes are and it caps a very tricky three-week stretch for Penn State, which plays at USC and Wisconsin. Penn State has a playoff-caliber team, but we’ll find out if the Nittany Lions are more than that if they can finally unseat Ohio State atop the Big Ten standings.”

A west coast trip to visit USC

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State appears on Simonton’s list for a second time for their matchup against USC. Penn State has not faced USC since the 2016 Rose Bowl which ended up being an all-time class college football game. Now, almost a decade later the Nittany Lions will play in one of the top Big Ten games against the Trojans according to Simonton.

“In a classic Rose Bowl rematch, Penn State will make the cross-country trip with the aim to prove its program exists on a different tier than USC in the new-look Big Ten.

“James Franklin has been fantastic the last few seasons winning all the games he’s supposed to, but this is one of those toss-up games where the Nittany Lions have fallen short too often. Can Franklin & Co., flip the script?”

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