The Most Important Games for the Penn State Nittany Lions are those conference games in the upcoming week whose outcome most changes the Nittany Lions final standings. The Importance Factor provides a relative importance between games. Penn State Nittany Lions fans can use this table to identify the most interesting conference games in the upcoming week of play.
| Game | Importance Factor (0‑∼100) |
Game Winner |
Penn State Resultant Probabilities | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Finish | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
2* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
3* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
4* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
5** First and Second Round Byes |
6** First and Second Round Byes |
7** First and Second Round Byes |
8** First and Second Round Byes |
9*** First Round Bye |
10*** First Round Bye |
11*** First Round Bye |
12*** First Round Bye |
13*** First Round Bye |
14*** First Round Bye |
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |||
| Michigan St. (17‑2) vs Maryland (8‑10) |
2 | Michigan St. Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 12% | 14% | 20% | 35% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| Maryland Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 11% | 14% | 20% | 38% | ||
| Nebraska (19‑0) vs Minnesota (10‑9) |
2 | Nebraska Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 19% | 36% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| Minnesota Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 12% | 16% | 20% | 35% | ||
| UCLA (13‑6) vs NorthwesternN. Western (9‑10) |
1 | UCLA Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 9% | 12% | 15% | 19% | 34% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| NorthwesternN. Western Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 19% | 36% | ||
| Purdue (17‑2) vs Illinois (16‑3) |
1 | Purdue Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 6% | 8% | 12% | 14% | 19% | 36% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| Illinois Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 19% | 35% | ||
| Wisconsin (14‑5) vs USC (14‑5) |
1 | Wisconsin Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 6% | 8% | 11% | 14% | 20% | 35% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| USC Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 9% | 12% | 15% | 20% | 34% | ||
| Washington (10‑9) vs Oregon (8‑11) |
0 | Washington Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 12% | 15% | 19% | 34% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| Oregon Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 14% | 20% | 37% | ||
| Ohio St. (13‑5) vs Michigan (16‑1) |
0 | Ohio St. Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 6% | 9% | 12% | 15% | 19% | 35% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 20% | 35% | ||
| Michigan Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 5% | 8% | 11% | 14% | 20% | 35% | ||