With six teams in the AP Top 25, the Big Ten is open for the taking this fall. On Thursday, ESPN’s Greg McElroy revealed his pick to win the conference championship in the 2025 campaign. “In the championship game, it’s Penn State and Ohio State,” McElroy said. “Ohio State, in my opinion, beats Penn State […]
With six teams in the AP Top 25, the Big Ten is open for the taking this fall. On Thursday, ESPN’s Greg McElroy revealed his pick to win the conference championship in the 2025 campaign.
“In the championship game, it’s Penn State and Ohio State,” McElroy said. “Ohio State, in my opinion, beats Penn State in the regular season there in Columbus. I think Penn State gets revenge. I think Penn State wins the Big Ten this season.
“They’ve been to the championship game before. They gave Oregon all they wanted. They had a tremendous showing offensively. I think they get the job done. They avenge the loss of Ohio State from the regular season. They bring home James Franklin‘s second Big Ten Conference championship.”
Penn State is the highest ranked Big Ten team in the preseason AP Top 25, sitting at No. 2. However, BetMGM still lists Ohio State as the favorite to win the conference this season, with +190 odds. Penn State is at +240 odds.
In fairness, Penn State has struggled to bring home the big-time victories in the past. In fact, the Nittany Lions haven’t won the Big Ten since 2016 despite consistently being one of the best teams in the conference.
Alas, Penn State has no excuses this year. The team is returning 14 starters, including starting quarterback Drew Allar, along with star running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. McElroy expects nothing short of greatness from the Nittany Lions in the 2025 campaign.
“This team is ready to break through,” McElroy said. “The question is not whether or not Penn State will be in the Big Ten championship game. For me, that question was answered when all those guys decided to come back back in the early spring. The question was: Who will they play, and will they be victorious?
“The biggest key, though, why I think Penn State is poised to break through is the hire of [defensive coordinator] Jim Knowles. He brings not only just a fantastic system defensively, but also the blueprint for how Ohio State beat Penn State the last couple of years.”
Penn State poached Knowles from Ohio State this offseason after he led the Buckeyes to having the No. 1 defense in the country last season. Now, Knowles will look to help the Nittany Lions have similar success.
On Aug. 30, Penn State will begin its quest for a record year with a showdown against Nevada at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on CBS.
Category: General Sports
