College Football Betting – Ohio State at Penn State

November 6, 2009

NCAA College Football Betting

Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2 SU & ATS) at Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1 SU, 4-4 ATS)
Saturday, November 7 – 3:30 PM ET

BetUS NCAA College Football Betting Odds: PENN STATE -3.5, Total 39.5

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

OSU has seven of its last eight games
OSU has won six of its last seven games SU
OSU has covered seven of its last eight road games
OSU has won 19 of its last 23 road games SU
PSU has won its last five games SU
PSU has won 13 of their last 14 home games SU

Also….

OSU has won five of the last seven meetings SU
Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
PSU has covered four of the last five meetings as the home team
PSU has won four of the last six meetings SU as the home team

Ohio State rolled up a total of 1068 yards the last two weeks, but that was against New Mexico State and Minnesota and probably doesn’t reflect what they are able to do right now. Rather, maybe it was the 184 yards against Wisconsin or (ugh!) the 287 against Purdue. That, along with five turnovers, led to a loss at the hands of the Boilermakers, without which Ohio State would be 8-1 in college football betting action.

Across the board, Ohio State is ranked very highly on defense. I mean, you’re talking about a team that yields only 86 rushing yards a game (sixth), 174 passing yards a game (14th) and 11.7 points a game (sixth). They have scheduled very artfully, with a walk-through against New Mexico State prior to this, which means, in effect, two weeks to prepare.

The difficulty with the Buckeyes’ attack is that Terelle Pryor, who came with so much hype to Columbus, and was even touted for the Heisman by some people, has turned out to be vastly overrated. Pryor is a 54.6% passer while tossing nine interceptions, and it’s a shame that he is the only guy providing anything resembling a rushing attack for this team, and Randon Saine has been slumping, with 143 yards in the last four games.

When you look at Penn State’s situation, the Nittany Lions are in a little better shape with running back Evan Royster (859 yards, 5.9 ypc) and quarterback Daryll Clark (18 TD’s, 7 INT’s), who are both more consistent than their Ohio State counterparts. Do you really thing the Lions (2.6 ypc), who are allowing just 9.3 points a contest, can’t get at least as many stops as Jim Tressel’s team?

No matter what they say they’re going to do with Pryor, there is nothing they can do to give him a better arm, or make him a more natural quarterback. Maybe it’s a defensive struggle. If it is, then you want the team that is less likely to make the critical mistake. That’s Penn State, the 3.5-point favorite in the BetUS college football betting odds.

College Football Betting – Ohio State at Penn State

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

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