The Penn State Nittany Lions have seen their College Football Playoff hopes get dashed with consecutive losses to Ohio State and Michigan State the past two weeks. They will try to right the ship next time out and shouldn’t have much trouble against a struggling Rutgers Scarlet Knights squad.
The outcome isn’t in much doubt in this one, but the spread is so large that it remains to be seen if Penn State will be able to cover. Rutgers is 3-3 in the Big Ten but has not been competitive against the better teams in the conference, and Penn State is definitely one of those.
The Nittany Lions’ national championship hopes are likely shot but they hope to qualify for a top-tier bowl game and a win here against Rutgers will help that cause.
This contest in Week 9 of the regular season will go down Saturday, November 11, 2017, at 12 p.m. ET at Beaver Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Rutgers +31
Penn State -31
Over/Under 52.5
Odds Analysis
Penn State is a humongous home favorite as the oddsmakers are projecting a big-time blowout. The Nittany Lions have an impressive point-differential but need to excel from start to finish. Rutgers is getting slightly more action to cover this spread, with 51 percent of the money on the Scarlet Knights to keep this margin within 30 points.
The scoring total is quite low considering the spread, as the oddsmakers think the Penn State defense is going to dominate. The “over” is the more popular choice, with more than 72 percent of the money heading that way.
Key Stat
4. That’s the number of combined points that Penn State has lost by in its last two games. The Nittany Lions has previously ascended to the No. 2 ranking in the country but are now down to No. 14. Penn State had a nice lead on Ohio State two weeks ago but lost it all in the fourth quarter as the Buckeyes came storming back to pull out a 39-38 win.
Penn State still had a chance at the College Football Playoff if it won out but it followed that up with a close loss to Michigan State. The Spartans hit a 34-yard field goal as time expired to pull out a 27-24 win.
Penn State must be deflated as it watched its high hopes get squandered in two weeks.
Player To Watch
Gus Edwards -- Rutgers doesn’t have the type of talent to keep up in this game, so its best chance at hanging around is to do well in the ground game. Edwards is the workhorse, as he has 140 carries this season for 630 yards and six touchdowns.
Edwards topped 100 yards rushing last time out and if he can duplicate that the Scarlet Knights will be in great shape to cover the spread. It won’t be easy, as Penn State is only allowing 14.8 points per game and 120 rushing yards per game on the ground.
Edwards has had some nice performances against solid opponents and can’t afford to have a bad one here.
Free ATS Pick
Penn State is going to be motivated to get back on track and will take out its anger on the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers has won a decent amount of games this year but is not in the same stratosphere as Penn State.
Watch for the Nittany Lions’ defense to come up huge, while star running back Saquon Barkley figures to run roughshod over Rutgers. The point spread is this large for a reason. Penn State is going to dominate this one from start to finish and cruise to the win.
Take Penn State to cover, and the “over” is the call as the Nittany Lions will nearly cover it themselves.
College Football Odds: Penn State 45, Rutgers 10
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