Expectations are high for the 2024 Penn State football team. Even more so after the team was ranked No. 8 in the preseason Associated Press poll. That placed them as the third Big Ten team behind No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon. The Lions are expected to compete again in the conference and for one of the spots in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Can they get to double-digit wins again and be in a position to play meaningful football in December? Let’s go through the schedule and find out.
Penn State Football 2024 Schedule Predictions
Game 1: Penn State at West Virginia
The season starts off with what should be a good battle for the Lions as they head to Morgantown to take on the Mountaineers. Quarterback Garrett Greene is coming off a solid season in which he threw for over 2,400 yards and had a 16-to-4 touchdown to interception ratio.
West Virginia was also the No. 4 team in the nation in rushing. This should be a good early measuring stick for Penn State. But if they want to be a contender, an early strong start is imperative.
Prediction: Win (1-0)
Game 2: Penn State vs. Bowling Green
Penn State’s home opener comes against Bowling Green. This will be the first meeting between the schools since 1998 and only the third meeting ever. Penn State is 2-0 all-time against the Falcons. Bowling Green sports former Missouri and Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak in his sixth college season. The Falcons should compete in the MAC this season, but this should be a pretty easy day for the Nittany Lions.
Prediction: Win (2-0)
Game 3: Penn State vs. Kent State
A second straight MAC opponent for Penn State as they come off a bye week to welcome Kent State to Happy Valley for the first time since the 2018 college football season.
Penn State is 5-0 against the Golden Flashes, and Kent State went 1-11 last season. They return quarterback Tommy Ulatowski and two All-MAC wide receivers in Chrishon McCray and Luke Floriea. Kent State will likely still be going through some growing pains early in the season. Penn State gets through their non-conference schedule unscathed.
Prediction: Win (3-0)
Game 4: Penn State vs. Illinois
Illinois went a disappointing 5-7 in the 2023 season after winning eight games the year prior. Entering 2024, there are plenty of questions surrounding the offense. They lost four of their top five receivers from last season, including Isaiah Williams and Casey Washington. They also lost their top rusher as Reggie Love transferred to Purdue.
Illinois’ defense should be strong, but Penn State’s has a good group as well. The difference here is Penn State should have a much better offense.
Prediction: Win (4-0)
Game 5: Penn State vs. UCLA
New head coach DeShaun Foster comes to town as Penn State battles one of the new faces of the conference in UCLA.
The Bruins lost Chip Kelly, who left to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State. They also lost defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who took the same position at USC.
The big question with the Bruins is their defense. It’s a unit that took major strides last season, yet returns just two starters this season. Growing pains are to be expected with a new coach, a rebuilding defense and a new conference. This is a long trip for UCLA. Penn State gets to 5-0.
Prediction: Win (5-0)
Game 6: Penn State at USC
Another new face of the league for Penn State to battle, but this time, they are the ones taking the long road trip. The Nittany Lions travel to Southern California to take on Lincoln Riley and the Trojans. Based on the preseason AP Poll, No. 23 USC is the first ranked team Penn State faces this season.
Of course, USC has to replace quarterback Caleb Williams. That looks to be Miller Moss. In addition, the defense has constantly been a question mark for USC, and was the main reason USC lost five games last season. The Trojans did bring in new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to clean up the mess. The defense should be better, but will it be good enough to hold up Penn State’s offense? Here’s thinking the Lions will have just enough in the tank to pull out the victory.
Prediction: Win (6-0)
Game 7: Penn State at Wisconsin
Following another bye week, the Lions travel to Madison to face the Badgers and new quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, the transfer from Miami. That is, if he can beat out Braedyn Locke.
Wisconsin’s rushing attack will be interesting to watch. How will they replace Braelon Allen, who is already flashing with the New York Jets? Chez Mellusi and Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker will do their best to fill the void. Wisconsin is hoping for a better outlook from their offense after switching to the Air Raid last season under head coach Luke Fickell. How they improve by this point will tell a lot, but Penn State has the defense to clamp down on the Badgers.
Prediction: Win (7-0)
Game 8: Penn State vs. Ohio State
All these other games are nice and Penn State should flex their muscles. However, this is the Nittany Lion’s most important game on the schedule. It’s all about Ohio State on November 2. Penn State has to win this game if they want a shot at the Big Ten title.
There are very high expectations in Columbus after adding plenty of talent, including Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard and adding new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. They are the No. 2 team in the country in the preseason poll and Penn State gets them at home. Penn State needs to win this game. Unfortunately, given the recent history in this matchup and James Franklin’s record against top football teams, this could be too tough for Penn State to come out on top.
Prediction: Loss (7-1)
Game 9: Penn State vs. Washington
Whiteout Day comes on November 9 this year for Penn State against last year’s Pac-12 champion and national runner-up, the Washington Huskies. However, this year’s Washington team will look vastly different than last year’s.
Michael Penix Jr, Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan, Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten all left for the NFL. Not only that, head coach Kalen DeBoer left to replace the retired Nick Saban at Alabama.
There’s a lot to replace for Washington. Quarterback Will Rogers transfers over from Mississippi State, so that will help. However, there are a lot of questions surrounding this team. Penn State also doesn’t lose very often in the Whiteout.
Prediction: Win (8-1)
Game 10: Penn State at Purdue
That appearance in the Big Ten title game feels so long ago for Purdue, even though it was just two years ago. The Boilermakers went just 4-8 under first-year head coach Ryan Walters, as former head coach Jeff Brohm left for Louisville.
The Purdue offense has plenty of questions. They lost their top four wide receivers from last season and the offense wasn’t all that effective last year, ranking just 96th in EPA per play. Penn State shouldn’t have any problems here, right?
Prediction: Win (10-1)
Game 11: Penn State at Minnesota
Minnesota brings back plenty of strength on the offensive side of the football. Darius Taylor and Jordan Nubin, the top two rushers last season for the Golden Gophers are both back, as are four offensive linemen.
They’ll all try to protect new quarterback Max Brosmer, a transfer from New Hampshire, who led the FCS in passing yards last season with 3,498. How he adjusts to the FBS level will tell a lot. He’ll help Minnesota, but could run into trouble against Penn State’s defense.
Prediction: Win (11-1)
Game 12: Penn State vs. Maryland
Penn State closes the regular season with Senior Day against Maryland. The Terrapins have to replace quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. There’s currently a camp battle between redshirt junior Billy Edwards Jr. and North Carolina State transfer M.J. Morris to do so.
Maryland does have a good running back returning in Roman Hemby. As Pro Football Focus noted, only one Power Five running back had more receiving yards than Hemby’s 349, and that was former Oregon running back Bucky Irving (395).
Penn State will have their eyes on the college football playoffs here and want that finishing touch to give the committee one last impression to get them in. 12-1 should get the job done.
Prediction: Win (12-1)
