Penn State football set to face Oregon in 2024 Big Ten title game
STATE COLLEGE — No. 4 Penn State (11-1) is going to the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2016. The Nittany Lions clinched a spot in the conference championship game after beating Maryland 44-7 Saturday following an upset win for Michigan over Ohio State that knocked the now two-loss Buckeyes out of the title game mix. Head coach James Franklin’s team will face No. 1 Oregon next Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET. CBS will televise the game.
Penn State did not enter the day thinking a trip to league title game in the first year without divisions was likely. The Buckeyes were a roughly three-touchdown home favorite over the Wolverines, who kicked a late field goal to win 13-10. That game started at Noon ET. So, by the time the Lions game started against the Terrapins at Beaver Stadium, they knew that a win would get them in. After a slow start that saw the visitors go up 7-0 just 14 seconds into the game, the Lions went in a 31-0 run to take a 24-point lead into halftime. They then cruised in the second half.
“We just stopped hurting ourselves,” Franklin said. “We cleaned some things up. We had the fumble, we had another fumbled snap. Once we got those things settled down, we were fine.”
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More on Penn State-Oregon in the Big Ten title game
The Lions were indeed fine and now move on to face the unbeaten Ducks. Head coach Dan Lanning’s side faced Washington on Saturday night to close out the regular season. It has already beaten the Buckeyes this year, which the Lions, of course, lost to at home. Oregon will likely be favored by at least a field goal in the game.
Ducks passer Dillon Gabriel is up for the Davey O’Brien and Maxwell awards, which go to the nation’s top quarterback and best player on offense, respectively. Jordan James is the bell cow running back. Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart are the top receivers. Linebacker Bryce Boettcher is up for the Burslworth Award, which goes to the nation’s best player who started his career as a walk-on, and is the leading tackler.
