Earlier this week, ESPN's Bill Connelly released his final SP+ rankings of the offseason ahead of the 2024 college football season kicking off next week and Connelly's rankings are high on Penn State entering this fall.
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The Nittany Lions enter the season as the No.6 team in the country per SP+, ranking them third in the Big Ten only behind Ohio State (No. 2) and Oregon (No. 3). The Nittany Lions in the eyes of SP+ are unsurprisingly led by their defense, the fourth best defense heading into the season. Notably, the top four defenses in the country all belong to Big Ten programs; Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.
The SP+ rankings are also a bit higher than most on the Nittany Lions offense, ranking it as the 24th best offense in the country this preseason while the special teams rank 28th nationally.
Penn State will face six SP+ top-50 programs this fall. Ohio State leads the way as the SP+'s No.2 team but then there's a steep drop off. The next closest program is the USC Trojans at No. 21, followed by the Wisconsin Badgers at No. 26, the Washington Huskies at No. 32 and the West Virginia Mountaineers at No. 34.
Rounding out top-50 opponents include UCLA at No.37, Maryland at No. 46, and Minnesota at No. 47.
The Nittany Lions will also face a pair of opponents ranked outside the top-100 in Bowling Green (No. 104) and Kent State (No. 130).
Penn State will begin their 2024 season on August 31 against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown.
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