Greg McElroy Names Big Ten Championship Contenders For 2024 Season

The Big Ten added the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, USC Trojans, and UCLA Bruins this offseason. Entering this 2024 season, USC has the most Pac-12 conference titles with 37, followed by Washington, who has 18.

Although it will be the first season in the Big Ten for Oregon in 2024, Greg McElroy named the Ducks and Penn State Nittany Lions Big Ten Championship contenders on the latest edition of Always College Football .

In April, Oregon lost Bo Nix, Troy Franklin, and Bucky Irving to the NFL Draft. However, they added former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel and former Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Evan Stewart from the portal. The team returns stars from 2023, like WR Tez Johnson, WR Traeshon Holden, and linebacker Jeffrey Bassa.

"Defensively, biggest question mark. You have a lot of second-year players that are gonna be anticipated to make the next step. Will they? I think they will, some people think they might," McElroy said. "I don't know many people who don't think they will at all. They're gonna be in a really good spot. So Oregon, without question year one championship contenders."

McElroy pointed to the Big Ten's decision to no longer use divisions as a reason to consider Penn State a conference title contender. He argued that no team in college football benefits more from losing divisions than Penn State.

"...Nobody has benefitted more from getting rid of divisions than the Penn State Nittany Lions. Nobody. Not a single team in college football. ...Think about how many times Penn State would have been within striking distance of the playoff within the last few years if the 12-team format existed," McElroy said. "It didn't, now it does. Penn State's really well positioned. They are a conference and national championship contender in the Big Ten."

Penn State added stars like former Ohio State Buckeyes receiver Julian Fleming, former Wisconsin Badgers tight end Nolan Rucci, and former Georgia Bulldogs cornerback A.J. Harris.

The Nittany Lions last won a Big Ten championship in 2016, but McElroy believes they could be primed for a run this season.

Oregon comes in at -290 odds to make the College Football Playoff, while Penn State comes in at -145, courtesy of FanDuel . It will be interesting to see how the 2024 season pans out for either team.

Related: Greg McElroy Reveals One Question Mark That Could Stop Ohio State Next Season