A tough month for the Penn State Nittany Lions won't improve Saturday night, as they head to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
After a wild loss to Illinois, Penn State finds itself as a massive college football betting underdog, a far cry from its previous standing as a Top 5 team in the nation.
It's the opposite of where the Buckeyes find themselves, rolling and hunting down a CFP spot.
Here are our best free college football picks predictions for Penn State vs. Ohio State on Saturday, October 30.
Penn State vs Ohio State odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Ohio State opened as an 11.5-point favorite but is now sitting at -18.5. Meanwhile, the total has slightly ticked up from 60.5 to 61. Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.
Penn State vs Ohio State picks
Picks made on 10/28/2021 at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Penn State vs Ohio State game info
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
• Date: Saturday, October 30, 2021
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC
Penn State vs Ohio State betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Penn State: Devyn Ford RB (Questionable).
Ohio State: Kamryn Babb WR (Questionable), Marcus Crowley RB (Questionable), Jakailin Johnson (Questionable), Jaden McKenzie DT (Questionable), Mitchell Melton LB (Questionable), Noah Potter DE (Questionable), Gee Scott Jr. TE (Questionable), Enokk Vimahi OL (Questionable).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Buckeyes are 8-0 ATS in their last eight October games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Penn State vs. Ohio State.
Penn State vs Ohio State predictions
Ohio State -18.5 (-110)
It’s only going to be downhill from here for Penn State. After getting as high as third in the AP Poll, the Nittany Lions have now dropped to 20 after two straight one-possession losses.
It doesn’t look like quarterback Sean Clifford is 100 percent, at least on the field, and Penn State continues to struggle blocking at a high rate this season. The offense is averaging just 26.6 points per game while gaining 372.4 yards per game. It’s not the offense driving PSU to victory.
Instead, it’s the defense. The Nittany Lions have allowed 14.7 ppg this year with just 324.4 ypg against. The coverage in the secondary has been elite as Penn State has only allowed 178 ypg in the air. The one weakness, however, is that Penn State can’t stop the run, allowing 146.4 ypg — and it will be in for a rude awakening trying to stop Ohio State’s ground game.
The Buckeyes are rushing for 207.1 yards per contest and have been blocking extraordinarily well. It's helped power an offense that is averaging 49.3 ppg and allowing just 18.6 points against.
Behind freshman QB C.J. Stroud (who struggled early), and that dominant ground game, the Buckeyes' offense looks unstoppable now, averaging nearly 560 ypg. Stroud has now thrown for 22 touchdowns — against just three interceptions — and is in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
Therefore, we’ll rely on Ohio State to continue bludgeoning its opponents. The Buckeyes continue to get better while the Nittany Lions are struggling — back the superior team on Saturday.
Under 61 (-110)
We love Ohio State’s offense but it takes two to tango to hit the Over — and Penn State’s offense is not going to find ways to score enough against Ohio State to hit this lofty number.
The Buckeyes aren't the most elite defense but they can rush the passer as well as any team in the Big Ten. They’re also allowing just 119.4 yards per game on the ground and have figured out ways to stop the run.
Penn State couldn’t even find their way into the endzone on multiple two-point conversion tries in that embarrassingly awful overtime stretch against Illinois.
Therefore, we’ll take the Under in this bout. Nothing the Nittany Lions do on offense is special, as they're average all around — and average won’t cut it against Ohio State.
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