Ohio State at Penn State Spread


November 5, 2009 | Posted By Larry Cook

A large matchup this weekend as the Ohio State Buckeyes head to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions. The current college football lines show Penn State as a 3.5 point favorite with the total posted at 39.5. If you are looking for a place to bet on this game this weekend, take a look at the $500 signup bonus offered by BetUS!

Ohio State rolled up a total of 1068 yards the previous two weeks, but that was versus New Mexico State and Minnesota and probably doesn’t reverberate what they are able to do right now. Instead, perhaps it was the 184 yards against Wisconsin or the 287 against the Boilermakers. That, along with five turnovers, led to a loss againstPurdue, without which the Buckeyes would be 8-1 on the year.

Across the board, Ohio State is rated very highly on defense. This is a squad that grants only 86 rushing yards a game (6th), 174 passing yards a game (fourteenth) and 11.7 points a game (6th). They have scheduled very cunningly, with a lay-up against New Mexico State last week, which means, two weeks to prepare.

The difficulty with the Ohio State‘ attack is that Terelle Pryor, who arrived with so much ballyhoo to Columbus, and was even touted for the Heisman by some individuals, has became out to be immensely overrated. Pryor is a 54.6% passer while tossing nine picks, and it’s a disgrace that he is the only one 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 see the Nittany Lions’ situation, Penn State is 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 Buckeye counterparts. Do you really suppose the Lions (2.6 ypc), who are permitting just 9.3 points a game, can’t get at least as many stops as Jim Tressel’s squad?

No matter what they claim they’re going to do with Pryor, there is nada they can do to give him a more accurate arm, or make him a more natural signal caller. Maybe it’s a defensive fight. If it is, then you want the team that is less probable to make the serious slip. That’s the Nittany Lions, the 3.5-point favorite.

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