Penn State football has a chance to make history Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions are set to face Oregon for their first Big Ten Championship appearance since 2016 when it defeated Wisconsin 38-31 to win its fourth Big Ten title. That win, along with a 24-21 upset of Ohio State, highlighted a season that resulted in Penn State’s re-emergence in the national conversation as one of college football’s premier programs.

Since 2016, Penn State has allocated significant time and resources to reach the Big Ten Championship again, especially since Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft took over in 2022. Penn State football increased its overall budget from a record $57.6 million to $62 million last year, and coaching salaries increased by $2.2 million to $28.6 million.

Although the program has grown significantly since its last trip to Indianapolis, its consistent shortcomings against Ohio State, and Michigan since 2021, made the possibility of returning feel more distant by the year.

This year, Penn State narrowly lost to the Buckeyes again, but Ohio State’s implosion against the Wolverines and the Nittany Lions’ resounding win over Maryland to cap off an 11-1 regular season meant Penn State was finally going back to Indianapolis.

“It’s really cool just to get the chance, the opportunity to go compete for it,” offensive lineman Drew Shelton said about the Big Ten title. “It’s going to do good things for our program, not only this year but in the years moving forward.”

Since beginning Big Ten play in 1993, Penn State has won the conference four times. A fifth would boost its brand, attract more elite recruits, and even result in more help from donors.

If recruits see a top program improving, is that not a big pull? And if donors see a program winning arguably the best conference in the sport, would they not be motivated to help its NIL and overall fund even more?

Although there isn’t known to be a direct payout for winning the Big Ten, it still would reportedly give Penn State a financial boost. According to Business of College Sports, $4 million is awarded to all 12 teams who make the College Football Playoff, with an additional $4 million awarded to teams who make the quarterfinals.

Penn State is in the College Football Playoff. It’ll likely host a playoff game with a loss. Despite outside chatter over whether a win or loss would be better for the team’s playoff path, the group is focused and eager to beat Oregon.

“We’re just focused on trying to beat the No. 1 team in the country, Oregon, in Indianapolis, in the Big Ten, and just totally focused on that, not any of the other scenarios or discussions,” James Franklin said.

“We’re just trying to go out there and get the W,” defensive back Jalen Kimber said. “We made it this far, so why not go out there and try to do what we can do to get the dub?

Penn State is playing with house money, but that doesn’t mean goals aren’t present. An empty trophy case is placed in the team meeting room to add extra fuel.

“Just motivation to go put a trophy in there,” Kimber said. “Something that we can do, confident that we can go do it. Why not go make history? It’s been a long time since we won a Big Ten Championship, so just go out there and make history.”

Kimber played for Florida and Georgia before Penn State. The redshirt senior was on the roster but didn’t play when the Bulldogs lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship and won the national championship. Now, the Merrillville, Indiana, native returns to his home state with a chance to make a mark in another conference championship game.

“I’m just extremely grateful because at that time, I did want to play, but I wasn’t able to. I’m just extremely grateful to be in this position, to be able to go out there and showcase my skills,” Kimber said.

For others, the opportunity represents something else. Defensive lineman Dvon J-Thomas has been with the program since 2019, and his belief in what the program can achieve was among the reasons he stayed another year.

“I literally came back for moments like this, situations like this, games like this,” J-Thomas said. “I believe that Penn State has the opportunity, has the talent, has the people, has the personnel, etc., etc., to be the best team in the country, to win the national championship. But it has to happen game by game, and I think this is just the first step to that.”