No. 20 Penn State Nittany Lions vs No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions, Odds, Picks

• When Ohio State has the ball — pick your poison now that Buckeyes are rolling
• When Penn State has the ball — Nittany Lions suddenly look lifeless
• X-factors to watch

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Ohio State Buckeyes Odds

Odds presented by DraftKings Sportsbook

Well, this game sadly lost its luster. When Penn State lost by three to Iowa on the road a few weeks ago, that was understood and forgiven. A tough loss to a tough opponent at a tough venue. To lay an egg and lose to an abysmal Illinois team at home? That’s downright inexcusable. Combine that with the fact the Buckeyes are steamrolling opponents and they have a prime-time home game, there’s a reason the line is so lopsided in this one. Penn State has pride on the line so it will score, but too much OSU in this one. We like Ohio State to cover the spread and the over.

Pick:

Ohio State to Cover the Spread -17.5 (-110)

Ohio State Over 59.5 (-110)

Garcia’s 2021 record: (16-11)

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Trends to Watch

• Nittany Lions are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 conference games
• Nittany Lions are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall
• Nittany Lions are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss
• Nittany Lions are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in October
• Under is 5-1-1 in Nittany Lions last 7 games following a ATS loss
• Under is 5-1-1 in Nittany Lions last 7 games following a straight up loss
• Under is 4-1 in Nittany Lions last 5 road games
• Under is 5-2 in Nittany Lions last 7 games overall
• Under is 7-3 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings in Ohio State
• Underdog is 4-1 ATS in last 5 head-to-head meetings
• Buckeyes are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall
• Buckeyes are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games in October
• Over is 3-0-1 in Buckeyes last 4 games in October
• Over is 4-1 in Buckeyes last 5 games overall

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions

Ohio State Offense Sizzling Entering Primetime Matchup

Well, that didn’t last long. After a lackluster loss to Oregon and a slow start offensively to the season, rumors of Ohio State’s demise appear to be vastly overrated and once again the top-five Buckeyes feel like a favorite to win the league and compete for a national title.

Ohio State is now rolling, after scoring a cool 54 points against an Indiana defense that just held a high-flying Michigan State attack to 20 points the week prior. CJ Stroud? Yeah, he’s not a scrub, as people so claimed. He went 21-of-28 for 266 yards and four touchdowns. But the Buckeyes aren’t a one-trick pony.

And as they so often do, they’re littered with a stable of running backs, but its freshman TreVeyon Henderson — who is already one of the best backs in the league — who leads the way. He touched the ball just 10 times last week, but found the endzone three times and tallied 95 total yards.

But in fairness, the Nittany Lions defense is the best the Buckeyes will have seen to date. Through four league games, Penn State is allowing just 14.3 points per game. It will be interesting if the Nittany Lions can make an early stand or maybe help a struggling offense with field position.

But even with a good statistical defense, it’s one thing to shut out Indiana. Ohio State is a different beast.

Penn State’s Offense is Offensive – And Not in a Good Way

It was just a few weeks ago that people believed Penn State was a top 10 — maybe top 5 — team in the country. With a win on Saturday, the Nittany Lions would shoot up the polls again, but with an offense struggling this badly it’s just hard to see how that’s possible.

Penn State is dying to find a rushing attack — they ran 29 times for a putrid 62 yards and no scores last week against Illinois. On the season nobody even has 250 yards total — through seven games!

Noah Cain has led the way, but he was bottled up last week for 43 yards on 11 rushes.

On the other side, Ohio State’s defense is slowly coming together. Indiana’s offense has struggled all year, but to hold a Big Ten opponent to seven points is impressive. Not to mention, teams will likely need to score 40+ to keep up with them to begin with.

X-factors to Watch

The x-factor for Ohio State is Stroud. Sounds lame, picking a quarterback, but Ohio State is just such a different team when he’s on vs. when he’s not.

Over the past three games, he couldn’t be more on — completing more than 73 percent of his passes for 1,002 yards, 14 touchdowns, and no interceptions.

If he’s even close to that on Saturday, it’s game over.

For Penn State, who is going to be a playmaker besides Jahan Dotson? Wide receivers Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith have combined for more than 50 catches, 700 yards, and four touchdowns.

Let’s see if Penn State’s offense can somehow wake up to keep this close.

How to Watch Penn State Nittany Lions vs Ohio State Buckeyes