5 Final Thoughts on Penn State Football vs. Oregon in the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game

In what could become a big conference rivalry, Penn State Football takes on the undefeated Oregon Ducks for the Big Ten conference championship Saturday night.

Both teams are in the top-five in the country with Penn State at No. 3 and Oregon at No. 1. Come the College Football Playoff tournament, these two teams may go head to head a second time.

5 Final Thoughts on Penn State Football vs. Oregon

1. Penn State Leads the Series

This is just the fifth matchup of the series and the Nittany Lions lead 3-1. These two teams haven’t even played this century, with the last matchup coming in 1995 in the Rose Bowl. Penn State won that game 38-20. Now that these two powerhouses consistently sit atop the same conference, everything is pointing to a budding rivalry.

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2. Penn State’s Kryptonite is Behind Them

During the James Franklin era, the Nittany Lions have consistently fallen short against two conference rivals– the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines.

Neither are in the championship and that’s good for Penn State Football. The Wolverines are far from the playoffs. There’s still a chance that Ohio State stands in the way of a national championship, but it feels like if the Nittany Lions can take down Oregon, they can take the national championship.

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3. Slowing Dillon Gabriel

For much of the season, Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel has been on the Heisman watchlist. In fact, he set the NCAA record for total touchdowns with 179. On the season, he has 26 touchdowns against 6 interceptions and against AP Top 25 teams he has 5 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Edge rusher Abdul Carter and the Penn State defense have to show up with their A-game if they hope to stop Gabriel. Surprisingly, Oregon doesn’t have a single receiver over 700 yards. That’s why this matchup is more about the pressure on Gabriel than the coverage on the receivers.

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4. Tyler Warren Needs a Big Game

The Oregon defense ranks 8th in the country in pass defense. It’s not going to be an easy task to move the ball through the air in this one. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, Tyler Warren is the best tight end in all of college football.

Warren also leads the team in receiving yards. If Penn State is going to have a chance, they’ll need to feed Tyler Warren the ball. It wouldn’t be the first game Warren has taken over.

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5. Playoff Outlook

What if Penn State wins?

Do they take the number one seed in the CFP rankings? The two teams will have the same record and Penn State would have the tiebreaker. They’d have a first-round bye. Or is there more confidence going against Arizona State and then Boise State? Regardless, a championship win could shake up the playoffs and lay out a path towards a natty.

This could be the biggest game of James Franklin’s Penn State career. Expectations are high for this game and it should be a doozy.

MORE: BOLD Predictions for Penn State vs. Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game

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