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Dan Mullen shares predictions for Big Ten champion, order of finish
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The Big Ten is bigger than ever this year.
The 2024 season marks the conference’s first season with 18 teams, adding Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. In the preseason AP Top 25, the B1G was represented by six squads, including four in the top 10.
Dan Mullen decided to weigh on the state of the B1G in 2024 on Wednesday. The former SEC head coach is returning to ESPN as a college football analyst and broadcaster.
Mullen shared his predicted order of finish and pick for B1G conference championship game winner. He likes Ohio State and Penn State to finish in the top two spots in the regular season, with the Buckeyes taking the title crown in Indianapolis.
I think there are 5 teams that could make it to the title game this year in the @bigten @espn @ESPNCFB pic.twitter.com/l51FTXM2CV
— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) August 21, 2024
Mullen isn’t alone in being high on Ohio State. The Buckeyes are No. 2 in the AP Top 25 and received 15 first-place votes. (No. 1 Georgia received 46 first-place votes).
At DraftKings Sportsbook, the over/under for Ohio State’s regular-season win total is set at 10.5. Odds trend over 10.5 wins, as it is priced at -150 ($150 wager needed to win $100 for $250 payout).
OSU is also the favorite to win the B1G title. DraftKings has Ohio State at +155 to be Big Ten champions, making Ryan Day’s squad the betting favorite.
While big things are expected from Oregon, there are high expectations for Penn State, too. Like Ohio State, both Oregon and Penn State have over/unders of 10.5 regular-season wins at DraftKings. However, Oregon’s odds to win the B1G are +200 to Penn State’s +500 at DraftKings.
AP voters are giving Oregon a slight advantage to start the season. The Ducks are preseason No. 3 in the AP Top 25, receiving 1 first-place vote. Penn State begins the 2024 campaign at No. 8, without any first-place votes.
ESPN’s FPI, a simulation-based predictive model measuring team strength, gives Oregon the best chance to win the B1G at 37.5%. Ohio State is next at 25.7%, followed by Penn State at 22.2%.
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A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.