College Football - (1) Ohio State Buckeyes at (24) Penn State Nittany Lions 8:00 PM EST
Ohio St. is currently a 3-point road favorite with a game total of 40 at Skybook.com for tonight's big matchup of top 25 teams.
 The top-ranked (8-0) Buckeyes look to stay perfect on the season when they travel to "Happy Valley" Beaver Stadium to take on the 24th ranked (6-2) Nittany Lions in a Big Ten showdown on Saturday night.
Ohio State is averaging 34.3 points and 418 yards per game with a balanced offense of 202.4 rushing and 215.6 passing this season.
The Buckeyes passing attack is lead by Todd Boeckman, completing 65.6% of his passes with 1546 yards, 18 touchdowns and 7 picks on the year. Chris Wells leads the team in rushing with 863 yards (108 per game) and 7 Td's.
Ohio State has the best defense in the country, giving up just 7.9 points and 208.5 yards per game and surrendering just four touchdowns all season.
Penn State averages 33.1 points and 405.9 yards on offense per game with 186.3 via rushing and 219.6 passing. On defense, the Nittany Lions have given up just 15 points per game.
Penn State's Senior quarterback Anthony Morelli has completed 59.5% of his passes for 1739 yards, 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the year.
The Buckeyes won at home 24-17 last week over Michigan State. The Spartans scored touchdowns on an interception return and a fumble recovery to make the game much closer than it actually was.
Ohio St. is a perfect 8-0 this year, with seven of their wins by double figures. Penn State is currently riding its second three-game winning streak of the season by beating Indiana 38-31 last Saturday.
The Nittany Lions are 6-2 overall, and their only two losses came against Michigan and Illinois on the road by a combined total of 12 points.
The Buckeyes have won four of their last five meetings against the Nittany Lions overall, but Penn State has won four of the last five matchups at home and is 5-2 all-time against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium.
Trends of Interest
Ohio State is 4-3 against the spread this year. 5-0 straight up in their last 5 games on the road. 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games on the road.
Penn State is 4-4 against the spread. 5-0 straight up in the last 5 games at home. 9-2 SU in the last 11 games overall. 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games at home.
Sportscapper Island Prediction
The Nittany Lions have been outstanding at State College winning all five games and actually blowing everyone out in the process, including Wisconsin by 31 two weeks ago.
This game will obviously be the toughest on the schedule thus far for both teams. I can definitely see Penn State pulling off the upset, but at the same time it's tough to go against Ohio State. I'll go out on a limb here and predict the upset anyway.
Ohio State 14 - Penn State 17
Be sure to visit the college football betting forum to discuss picks and predictions for this game as well as the entire card for Saturday.
-Tommy of Sportscapper Island |
