This time last year, the Penn State Nittany Lions were widely considered viable national title contenders.
Coming off a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals, where they lost a heartbreaker to Notre Dame, Penn State seemed poised for another deep run into late January after being a play away from the title game in 2024.
However, after a 3-0 start, the Nittany Lions lost in double-overtime to Oregon, and a couple of weeks later, the team fired head coach James Franklin, as the once-promising season quickly turned into a disaster in Happy Valley.
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The loss to Oregon was the first of six consecutive defeats. Penn State finished 6-6 and did not even play in a bowl game. After the disappointing season, the Nittany Lions hired head coach Matt Campbell away from Iowa State, and Campbell brought with him a number of his former players.
Could 2026 see a resurgence and possibly a return to the College Football Playoff?
The schedule certainly makes it possible.
Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana are viewed as being the best teams by far in the conference and Penn State plays none of the three.
Penn State’s new head coach has the task of righting the ship in Happy Valley (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images).
The bottom six teams in the conference, according to the odds, are Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Rutgers and Purdue.
Penn State plays five of those six teams.
The Nittany Lions also get a favorable non-conference schedule and should cruise to a 3-0 start before Big Ten play begins, as they play Marshall, Temple and Buffalo to start the year.
One of their tougher games is against USC, but Penn State hosts that game and USC has been notorious for struggling on the road since the conference expanded.
Penn State is currently +360 to make the Playoff, and it has a very realistic path to a 10-2 record that would almost certainly get the Nittany Lions in.
They might not be one of the 12 best in the country in terms of talent, but the path to the College Football Playoff is there and is well worth a bet at +360 odds.
