Heather Dinich reveals why Penn State has what it takes to challenge Ohio State, Michigan in Big Ten

Three of the best teams in college football heading into the 2023 season play in the Big Ten East: Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. ESPN’s Heather Dinich thinks this could be best chance since 2016 for the Nittany Lions to break through and win the league again.

The biggest question for Penn State is who the starting quarterback will be — though there’s a fair assumption it’s Drew Allar — and how well he will play. Assuming it is Allar, Dinich made the case on the “Paul Finebaum Show” for why it could be Penn State making a trip to Indianapolis this year.

“If he can be — he doesn’t need to be great. But if he can be good enough [for Penn State] to play at an elite level, there’s enough talent surrounding him that this could be James Franklin’s best team since 2016 when they won the Big Ten,” Dinich said. “So Paul, I think that they have the potential to create a three-way tie with Ohio State and Michigan. If they can knock off one of those two teams — they have not defeated them both. But Penn State could definitely have playoff potential this year.”

Penn State has had no issue at churning out pro-caliber receivers in recent years and current boasts one of the best running back tandems in the country in Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. The offensive line features maybe the best lineman in the sport in Olu Fashanu and the defensive front seven is chock full of proven and ascending playmakers.

But as Dinich noted, Penn State hasn’t beaten both the Wolverines and Buckeyes in the same season. Barring doing that this year, the best they can hope for are unexpected stumbles or a three-way tie.

And beating both Michigan and Ohio State in 2023 would be a massive feat for Penn State (or any team).

Dinich dove in to the Buckeyes and how things stack up in 2023. Ohio State, like Penn State, will be breaking in a new quarterback and Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are both talented options, both highly-rated as recruits. Even if they don’t have the buzz that Allar might, there’s no reason to doubt the Ohio State offense under Ryan Day.

And besides, the Buckeyes have some bigger questions on the defensive side that need answering.

“Like when you talk about Ohio State, you’ve got that razzle-dazzle offense. I mean we are talking about elite talent. Marvin Harrison Jr. and all those guys. Kyle McCord, if he’s the quarterback, whoever it might be, has an amazing supporting cast around him,” Dinich said. “Can the defense take another step under Jim Knowles? That’s going to be critical. And it’s not like they were bad last year, but don’t give up so many big plays. I was in his office, I talked to Jim Knowles.

“And I’ll never forget this: On his desk, next to his computer, was stress-relief tea. And I kind of looked at him and, you know, that kind of sums it up where he was. But, he was very cognizant of the fact they’ve gotta get better. And he thinks that they’re in a position to do that.”

Right now, though, Dinich is taking the Wolverines to three-peat as Big Ten champions — with the caveat that she “reserves the right to get smarter” and alter her pick as the season gets closer.

“But the difference between them and Michigan is Michigan has these veteran guys and is the experience there. And J.J. McCarthy at quarterback and we saw what they were able to do down the stretch and Blake Corum returning at running back. So I’m going with Michigan, early, to win the Big Ten right now because of that, because of J.J. McCarthy,” Dinich said.