Penn State Nittany Lions Orange Bowl Betting Online
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin is derisively known as “Big Game James” because of his poor record against the top teams in college football. But Franklin can change the narrative on Thursday night in the Orange Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The matchup is part of the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff. With a win, Big Game James will take his Nittany Lions to the national championship game. Notre Dame is coming off a dominant win over the Georgia Bulldogs at the Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinal round.
College Football Playoff Betting Lines
ORANGE BOWL HARD ROCK STADIUM - MIAMI GARDENS, FL
Notre Dame Fighting Irish -2
Penn State Nittany Lions +2
Over/Under: 47
Money Line: Notre Dame -129, Penn State +110
Penn State Nittany Lions Weekly Matchup
In postseason action, on Thursday, January 9, 2025, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face the Penn State Nittany Lions at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. This matchup is the semifinal game of the College Football Playoff and the Orange Bowl. Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and television coverage will be on ESPN.
Penn State is gaining as an attractive betting on college football using crypto property.
Last game, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 23-10 against the Georgia Bulldogs as 1-point favorites. The game went under the total of 45. Notre Dame has a record of 13-1 straight up, 10-2 against the spread, and 7-5 over/under the total. Notre Dame ranks 53rd for total offense, 110th for passing, 13th for rushing and 3rd for scoring. Defensively they rank 7th overall, 4th against the pass, 33rd against the rush, and 2nd for points allowed. Also, Notre Dame ranks 25th for fewest turnovers lost and 4th for takeaways.
Penn State Nittany Lions Weekly Recap
Last game, the Penn State Nittany Lions won 31-14 against the Boise State Broncos as 11.5-point favorites. The game went under the total of 54.5. Penn State has a record of 13-2 straight up, 6-6 against the spread, and 5-7 over/under the total. Penn State ranks 28th for total offense, 60th for passing, 20th for rushing and 25th for scoring. Defensively they rank 4th overall, 26th against the pass, 8th against the rush, and 7th for points allowed. Also, Penn State ranks 35th for fewest turnovers lost and 6th for takeaways.
Penn State running back Kaytron Allen upstaged the Heisman Trophy runner-up Tuesday night in the Fiesta Bowl, rushing for 134 yards as the Nittany Lions sweated out a win over Boise State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Penn State, which won its 13th game for the first time in school history, advanced to a semifinal appearance in the Orange Bowl. Penn State labored through a key defensive injury, some self-inflicted wounds, and an offensive system that occasionally forgot about its top two players on the night. But ultimately, Allen and Nicholas Singleton combined for 216 yards, overshadowing Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, and shouldered the Nittany Lions into the next round.
Allen ran all night as though he was tired of being compared to Jeanty, who led the nation with 2,497 yards rushing. Allen had four carries of 12+ yards, averaged 7.9 per carry, and delivered the kind of yards-after-contact expected from Jeanty. Allen's season-high rushing total included some Jeantyesque runs in which he ran through contact and bounced off tackles. And it didn't include a 50-yard gain in the second quarter that was negated by a penalty.
Singleton ran hard as well but couldn't break through holes, at least until the fourth quarter, when he cut through a middle seam and exploded 58 yards for a score. It was his longest carry of the season at just the right time, giving Penn State a 31-14 lead with 4:54 remaining. Allen and Singleton combined for 221 yards, and both went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season in the Fiesta Bowl.
2024 Penn State Nittany Lions Football Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RECORD |
| Aug 31 |
at West Virginia |
W 34-12 |
1-0 |
| Sep 7 |
vs. Bowling Green |
W 34-27 |
2-0 |
| Sep 14 |
OFF |
| Sep 21 |
vs. Kent State |
W 56-0 |
3-0 |
| Sep 28 |
vs. Illinois |
W 21-7 |
4-0 |
| Oct 5 |
vs. UCLA |
W 27-11 |
5-0 |
| Oct 12 |
at USC |
W 33-30 |
6-0 |
| Oct 19 |
OFF |
| Oct 26 |
at Wisconsin |
W 28-13 |
7-0 |
| Nov 2 |
vs. Ohio State |
L 13-20 |
7-1 |
| Nov 9 |
vs. Washington |
W 35-6 |
8-1 |
| Nov 16 |
at Purdue |
W 49-10 |
9-1 |
| Nov 23 |
at Minnesota |
W 26-25 |
10-1 |
| Nov 30 |
vs. Maryland |
W 44-7 |
11-1 |
The Penn State Nittany Lions have a troubled history of triumph and tragedy. And most of it is tied to the late head coach Joe Paterno.
Penn State won its only two national championships under Paterno in 1982 and 1986. Additionally, the Nittany Lions had three other unclaimed nattys under Joe Pa. Paterno won four Big Ten titles after moving his program into that league after decades in independent status.
Paterno went 409-136-3 at Penn State but was forced out in disgrace. In 2011, Penn State had a sexual abuse scandal blow up on the national news. It regarded former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky raping boys.
Paterno admitted he should have done more about the situation when he learned of it. Although he reported what he knew to his superiors, he did not follow up. A cover-up ensued, and Paterno’s career and reputation were ruined.
Great former Penn State players include John Cappelletti, Mike Reid, Chuck Fusina, Kerry Collins, LaVar Arrington, Shane Conlan, Jack Ham, Lydell Mitchell, Curt Warner, and Larry Johnson.
The Nittany Lions have had a long tradition of being “Linebacker U.” Penn State has been a perennial power in that position.
Since 2014, James Franklin has been the head coach of the Nittany Lions. He led Penn State to the 2016 Big Ten title and won the Rose Bowl in the 2022 season. Penn State has finished in the Top Ten four times under Franklin. Still, Nittany Lion fans want more, and Franklin continues to frustrate them with seasons that are often close but with no cigar.
2024-2025 College Football Schedule
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