Penn State has 4/1 odds to make it to the 2023 College Football Playoff according to BetOnline.
Breaking it down more in-depth, Penn State is +400 to make the playoff, -600 not to make it and has an 85.7% chance of not getting in.
Every team has a difficult path to make it to the playoff, and Penn State’s no exception.
Although James Franklin’s team is likely to be favored in at least 10 of its 12 games, in all likelihood, the team will need to go no worse than 11-1 in the regular season and win the Big Ten championship to make its first playoff berth since the four-team format started in 2014. Penn State’s two biggest games of this coming regular season are against a pair of teams that are also playoff hopefuls: Ohio State and Michigan. Penn State takes on Ohio State Oct. 21 in Columbus at a time to be determined. It plays Michigan Nov. 11 in Happy Valley with a noon kickoff scheduled on Fox.
Both Ohio State and Michigan made the Playoff last season, falling in the semifinals to national title game participants TCU and Georgia, respectively.
On their roads to the Playoff, each team took care of Penn State. Michigan drubbed PSU in a 41-17 win Oct. 15, and Ohio State won a more competitive game, 44-31, in Beaver Stadium two weeks later. Those were the only two games Penn State lost last year. The team ended up finishing 11-2, capping everything off with a win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.
Both are expected to be formidable this season, as well. Michigan— which is a two-time defending Big Ten champion and playoff participant— is 5/4 to make the Playoff with a 60.8% chance of missing it. Ohio State’s the only Big Ten school that’s favored to make the playoffs, with a 56.5% probability.
Penn State opens up its 2023 season against West Virginia at Beaver Stadium Sept. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 on NBC.
