Published Aug 23, 2024
ESPN's FPI predicts Penn State's 2024 schedule
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Dylan Callaghan-Croley  •  Happy Valley Insider
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Penn State's 2024 season opener against West Virginia is just around the corner as the Nittany Lions continue to prepare for their opener against West Virginia on August 31 in Morgantown.

This fall, the Nittany Lions will look to make the College Football Playoffs for the first time ever as the playoffs expand from four teams to 12 teams.

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Last season, the Nittany Lions went 10-3 with losses to Ohio State, Michigan in the regular season and a loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.

Entering this season, many believe that the Nittany Lions are among the best teams in the country and are ranked eighth in the AP Poll to start the season, five spots above where they finished last season at No. 13.

With that being said, ESPN's FPI thinks even higher of Penn State. But first what is FPI? Here's the official definition from ESPN.


The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete.


The preseason FPI has Penn State as the No. 6 team in the country only behind Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Ohio State, and Alabama. ESPN's FPI gives the Nittany Lions a 59.1% chance to make the College Football Playoffs and a 22.2% chance to win the Big Ten, the third best odds in the Big Ten only behind Oregon (37.5%) and Ohio State (25.7%).

Notably, the FPI also gives Penn State a 7.1% chance to finish their 2024 season undefeated. But what games does the FPI think the Nittany Lions could be in trouble of losing?

Let's take a full look at Penn State's regular season slate and their chances of winning each game according to the FPI?

PENN STATE FPI PROJECTIONS
DATEOPPONENTCHANCE OF WINPROJ RECORD

Aug 31

at West Virginia

77.6%

1-0

Sep 7

Bowling Green

96.2%

2-0

Sep 21

Kent State

99.0%

3-0

Sep 28

Illinois

91.7%

4-0

Oct 5

UCLA

89.4%

5-0

Oct 12

at USC

62.5%

6-0

Oct 26

at Wisconsin

81.3%

7-0

Nov 2

Ohio State

49.2%

7-1

Nov 9

Washington

87.4%

8-1

Nov 16

at Purdue

86.6%

9-1

Nov 23

at Minnesota

83.9%

10-1

Nov 30

Maryland

86.9%

11-1