In their home opener against the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday at University Park, Pennsylvania, the Penn State Nittany Lions will try to continue their winning ways. The Nittany Lions (1-0), who had just finished a disappointing fourth in the Big Ten Conference East at 4-5, had a 7-6 overall record in 2021.
The Bobcats (1-0), who placed third in the Mid-American Conference East with a 3-5 record last year, had a 3-9 overall record. Despite a poor year, Penn State has a record of 54-22 and a winning percentage of 0.711 since 2016. Among the Power Five programs over that time period, that represents the ninth-best winning percentage.
Senior quarterback Sean Clifford, who is in his fifth season and has started 34 games in his career, is under center for the Nittany Lions. By starting a game in four different seasons against Purdue, he joined Zack Mills (2001–04) and Tony Sacca as the only quarterbacks in program history to accomplish this feat (1988–99). After playing well against Purdue, Clifford was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. He had 282 passing yards and four touchdown passes, which tied a career high in the contest.
"WAKE UP! It's Game Day in Happy Valley" - PennStateFball
Despite this, the Nittany Lions cannot be counted on to beat the spread in this game. Kurtis Rourke, a junior redshirt, is the Bobcats' veteran quarterback. Rourke was impressive last week against Florida Atlantic, completing 27 of 34 passes (79.4 percent) for 345 yards and four touchdowns. He also scored another touchdown rushing. Rourke has completed 228 of 339 passes (67.3%) for 2,548 yards and 18 touchdowns against seven interceptions during his time with Ohio.
"T-minus 24 hours..." - OhioFootball
Penn State vs. Ohio Bobcats match details
Fixture: Ohio Bobcats @ Penn State
Date & Time: Saturday, September 10, 12:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
Penn State vs. Ohio Bobcats betting odds
Penn State vs. Ohio Bobcats best picks
Leading the group of running backs for Penn State is sophomore Keyvone Lee. Lee had a total of 998 yards and six touchdowns in 2021. Additionally, he has made 29 receptions for 211 yards and a touchdown. With 57 seconds left last week against Purdue, Lee caught the 10-yard touchdown reception that ended up being the game-winner. He is on the list of people to watch for the Doak Walker Award.
Pick: Keyvone Lee Over 38.5 rushing Yds (-115)
Penn State vs. Ohio Bobcats betting prediction
Bettors should easily pick the Nittany Lions for a massive victory. They are the stronger side on paper and this should translate on the field. This should be an easy win for them.
Penn State -28 (-110)
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