Penn State Among Early Betting Favorites for Big Ten, CFP Titles

The Nittany Lions made the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2025, and the betting odds suggest James Franklin's team could rise higher next season.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin reacts against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Penn State closed spring practice with confidence about its potential to compete for a national championship, and oddsmakers see promise in the Nittany Lions as well. Penn State is among the oddsmaking favorites to win both the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff national championship. Here's a look at Penn State's early odds for the 2025-26 college football season.

Penn State Nittany Lions Big Ten, National Championship Odds

According to FanDuel, Penn State is among the prime contenders to win the College Football Playoff championship. The Nittany Lions are +750 to win the CFP title, tied for third-best in early oddsmaking. Penn State trails betting favorite, and defending national champ, Ohio State (+600) and Texas (+650) and is tied with Georgia.

The Nittany Lions are ahead of Oregon (+850), Notre Dame (+1200) and Alabama and Clemson (+1400) in the early lines. In the Big Ten, FanDuel lists Penn State (+250) just behind favorite Ohio State (+210) and ahead of Oregon (+270) to win the conference championship.

Those three teams are the overwhelming Big Ten favorites. Michigan is fourth (+850), followed distantly by Nebraska, USC, Illinois and Indiana (all +3500). Penn State goes head-to-head with Oregon and Ohio State next season. The Nittany Lions host the Ducks on Sept. 27 and visit the Buckeyes on Nov. 1.

DraftKings, meanwhile, lists Penn State (+800) with the fifth-best odds to win the national championship, behind Ohio State (+500), Texas (+550), Georgia (+600) and Oregon (+750). DraftKings also separates Ohio State (+190), Penn State (+260) and Oregon (+280) from the pack in the Big Ten. Interestingly, according to DraftKings, Penn State has slightly better odds to win the Big Ten than Oregon but trails the Ducks in the CFP race.

Scouting Penn State's 2025 season

The Nittany Lions enter 2025 among the early national-championship favorites. Penn State won a school-record 13 games last season, played Oregon in the Big Ten title game and reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

In his 12th season as Penn State's head coach, James Franklin has perhaps his most talented team and best chance to win a national championship. The Nittany Lions return a loaded offensive lineup that includes third-year starting quarterback Drew Allar, returning 1,000-yard rushers Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and five offensive linemen with starting experience. Penn State bolstered the offense by signing three receivers from the transfer portal.

Defensively, Franklin responded to coordinator Tom Allen's departure to Clemson by signing former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to the highest assistant-coaching contract in college football. The Nittany Lions return potential All-Americans in defensive tackle Zane Durant, end Dani Dennis-Sutton and cornerback Zakee Wheatley.

Penn State's 2025 schedule offers a proper runway toward contention as well. The Nittany Lions begin the season with three home non-conference games against Nevada, FIU and Villanova before hosting Oregon following a bye week.

Penn State's road schedule has some potential trouble spots with trips to UCLA and Iowa before the huge visit to Ohio State. However, the Nittany Lions also get a bye week before meeting the Buckeyes in Columbus, where they have lost six consecutive games.

"There's going to be a ton of guys coming back for next year that are going to be hungry and are going to be motivated for more," Franklin said after the Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame. "They've gotten a taste of what this feels like and what it looks like and what it smells like. We'll all be better for it, including myself. We'll be better from this experience because there's so many guys in that locker room that have a chance to come back and use this as fuel and experience to get back here next year and the years after that."

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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