Top-ranked Oregon and No. 3 Penn State will meet in the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night (8 pm ET, CBS).

This is the 14th B1G title game. Penn State is seeking its 2nd championship. Oregon is trying to win the championship in its first year in the league.

Penn State won 11 games in a season for the 5th time under James Franklin and is 1 of 6 FBS programs with 11 wins in at least 5 of the past 9 campaigns. Meanwhile, the Ducks are 12-0, including 9-0 in B1G play.

Both teams are all but guaranteed the make the College Football Playoff, but Penn State’s quest could start on the road if they lose Saturday night.

Oregon is a 3-point favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Here are 3 matchups that will define this Penn State-Oregon title game.

Dan Lanning is a defensive savant

Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar has protected the football, boasting an 18-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season. He hasn’t thrown a pick since a 20-13 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 2. But the Ducks have one of the best defensive fronts in college football. Allar should expect to see pressure, so he will have to be at his best and avoid any mistakes. In their regular-season finale win over Washington, the Ducks tallied 16 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Nasty.

Nationally, college football fans unfamiliar with the Oregon defense might think it is one of the traditional leaky ones that littered the Pac-12 for all those years. But this unit is far from it. Dan Lanning learned from Nick Saban and Kirby Smart. And Lanning fingerprints are all over a defense that has proven it was physical enough to reach the conference title game.

Penn State is a B1G blue-blood, so a win would further prove the Ducks are an elite B1G program. The Nittany Lions are known for their physicality and power run game, but the Ducks can go toe to toe with them on both sides of the line of scrimmage. In addition to those 10 sacks against the Huskies, this unit held running back Jonah Coleman (1,011 yards) to 3 rushing yards. PSU’s offense will have its hands full with Matayo Uiagalelei (10.5 sacks), Jordan Burch (8.5 sacks) and Bryce Boettcher (80 tackles). The Ducks are allowing just 16.4 points per game (No. 9 in the country) and 290 total yards per game (No. 7 in the country).

Tyler the creator

How in the world will the Ducks be able to contain Tyler Warren? The Nittany Lions’ tight end cannot be defended 1-on-1. Will Oregon use a bracket strategy to slow him down? Warren didn’t have a huge impact in the loss to Ohio State, but he’s had plenty of games in which he was simply dominant, like his performance against USC. Warren broke 3 more tight end records in Penn State’s win last week over Maryland. He broke a tie with Wisconsin’s Travis Beckum for the B1G tight end season receptions record (81); he hauled in his 17th career touchdown reception, breaking a tie with Pat Freiermuth for the PSU tight end career touchdown receptions record; and he set the PSU tight end career receptions record (130), previously held by Mike Gesicki.

No matter how Oregon prepares to defend Warren, he will be a focal point. The Nittany Lions will try anything and everything to get the ball in his hands. Whether he is catching, throwing or running with the football, Warren will be integral for Andy Kotelnicki’s offensive attack. And the unit now has a healthy Nick Singleton, who has been slowed by injuries throughout this season.

Kotelnicki, who has not had a bevy of weapons to work with at receiver, will need to be extra creative to try to help the Nittany Lions generate some explosive plays. And, of course, it starts with Warren.

Ground and pound

For all of the talk about Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks’ passing attack (Gabriel has thrown for 3,275 yards and 24 TDs), this game could be won on the ground. Penn State has been one of the best teams in the FBS in yards per rush allowed, and it will need to be at its best in order to contain Oregon’s Jordan James, who is averaging 5.7 yards per carry with 13 touchdowns and is 3rd in the B1G with 1,166 yards. In Oregon’s win over Ohio State, James rushed for a game-high 115 yards. Ohio State ran for 176 yards in its 20-13 win in Happy Valley last month; only USC ran for more.

Meanwhile, the Ducks’ defensive line has been stout against the run for the most part, though Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty (192 yards, 3 TDs) and Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson had success. The Nittany Lions will need a productive night from the duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Without the stud receivers, PSU will rely on Warren and its backfield duo. The chess match between Kotelnicki and Ducks defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi will be fun to watch.

Prediction: Oregon 27, Penn State 19

The Ducks’ passing game hasn’t been as crisp the past few weeks. Look for Penn State to try to stop the run, which could give Gabriel a chance to make some plays deep with the Nittany Lions crowding the line of scrimmage. Gabriel, who leads the conference in explosive passing plays (21 completions covering 30+ yards, including 4 that went for 60+), has a chance on a big stage to have a Heisman moment. He’s been protected fairly well all season, as the Ducks have allowed just 12 sacks, the 2nd-fewest in the conference.

Since losing to Ohio State, PSU has outscored Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland 154-48. It absolutely can hang with the Ducks for 4 quarters. But Lanning’s squad, which challenged Ohio State’s secondary in their biggest win of the year (receivers Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson combined for 14 receptions for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns), will make a few more explosive plays en route to a B1G title.