Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Preview
The upcoming Big Ten clash this Saturday features the Penn State Nittany Lions hitting the road to face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both teams enter the contest boasting unblemished records this season.
The Nittany Lions currently hold the 7th spot in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, standing at a perfect 6-0 record after a recent shutout victory over UMass.
Meanwhile, Ohio State is also riding a 6-0 streak and secured a road win against Purdue in their last outing, placing them at the 3rd rank nationally. The Ohio State Buckeyes are small favorites at -3.5 over Penn State.
Franklin’s Nittany Lions Continue to Win
Penn State’s head coach, James Franklin, and his Nittany Lions squad are brimming with confidence ahead of this highly-anticipated showdown. They’ve enjoyed a few weeks without any significant challenges and are eager to engage in competitive action once more.
The Nittany Lions have been incredibly proficient this season, averaging 44.3 points per game while permitting a mere eight points on defense. Remarkably, Penn State’s defense ranks second in College Football for points allowed.
Offensively, the Nittany Lions exhibit a strong penchant for running the football. Kaytron Allen leads the team’s rushing attack with 375 yards and three touchdowns.
As a collective, Penn State manages to amass over 203 rushing yards per game. Their quarterback, Drew Allar, has shown remarkable prowess, throwing 12 touchdowns, including 3 to KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
In the coming weeks, Penn State is set to take on Indiana and Maryland before their next significant clash, this time on home turf, against Michigan.
The Nittany Lions‘ position in the Big Ten standings and their national ranking will be up for grabs in this pivotal matchup and subsequent contests.
Day Continuing to Shine as Leader in Columbus
The Ohio State Buckeyes, under the leadership of head coach Ryan Day, are no strangers to high-stakes games, having navigated numerous such encounters over the past couple of seasons. This season, they faced a nail-biter on the road against Notre Dame, which remains their sole close game of the year.
Statistically, the Ohio State Buckeyes are averaging 36 points per game while allowing just 9.7 points defensively, placing them right behind Penn State. Kyle McCord has been instrumental for Ohio State, orchestrating their offense from the quarterback position.
His top target, Marvin Harrison Jr, has emerged as one of the nation’s premier receivers, accumulating 604 yards and five touchdowns.
McCord’s leadership has catapulted the Buckeyes’ passing attack to 15th in the nation, averaging 308 passing yards per game.
Ohio State faces back-to-back road games against Wisconsin and Rutgers following this pivotal matchup.
Thriller in Columbus
These two teams are both really good. They both can do a ton of things well. The Ohio State Buckeyes have already seen a team kind of like this with Notre Dame.
This game being played in Columbus gives them a slight edge in this game. But that edge is not much. Look for Penn State to play this game tooth and nail with the Buckeyes.
The way this game is played, it will be hard for either team to slip in the rankings with a loss. In the end, we are going to take the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the game, but the bet goes to Penn State.
Taking the Nittany Lions +3.5 is the way to go for this huge game on Saturday.
