Penn State in the Top 5 of ESPN’s Big Ten Rankings
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The Penn State Nittany Lions might be a tough out this season on a weekly basis. They may not have the best roster in America, but what they do have is a great coach, a veteran team, and a bunch of guys trying to prove themselves.
What they also have is an incredibly favorable schedule next year, one that they should be able to take advantage of in a big way.
Then the question remains: how do they stack up with those at the top of the conference? According to ESPN, that answer is not very good.
ESPN ranked the Big Ten as one of the teams that have the best chance to win the conference. It is a really interesting exercise because what the results show is that there are only three teams that have a chance.
However, all that we continue to hear and say is that the Big Ten is a loaded conference from top to bottom. It is just an interesting wrinkle in an ongoing conversation. Back to the original point.
Ohio State tips the scales with a 39 percent chance to win, while the Oregon Ducks come in at second place with 24 percent, and the Indiana Hoosiers are in third place with a 19 percent chance.
Then, after the Hoosiers, there is quite the drop-off. USC checks in as the No. 4 team with a five percent chance, and then Penn State comes in after that with also a five percent chance to win the conference.
So, while Penn State does have the fifth best odds, they still are quite a long ways away.
I actually think that they got it right after the No. 3 spot. The major confusing part of this ranking and a lot of the others right now is the apparent disrespect that Indiana is getting in these polls.
It is seemingly a foregone conclusion that Oregon and Ohio State are going to finish ahead of the Hoosiers. Meanwhile, we are just seven months removed from them boat racing both of those programs to get to the National Championship.
Regardless of where all of these programs and teams are landing, Penn State has some work to do next year. It will not be easy for them, but they will have an opportunity to climb the ladder and maybe give the Big Ten Championship a scare late in the season.
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