The No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions and No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will square off in a pivotal Big Ten battle. Let’s dig into today’s Penn State-Ohio State odds as we make our predictions and pick the best college football Week 8 bet! As always, make sure to check out OddsShopper’s bet shopping pages to ensure you get the best deal on the market. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of your 50% profit boost for Penn State-Ohio State at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Penn State-Ohio State Pick, Prediction & FanDuel Boost | College Football Week 8
Penn State-Ohio State Betting Odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Penn State: +164 | Ohio State: -200
Penn State +5.5: -118 | Ohio State -5.5: -104
Over 45.5: -110 | Under 45.5: -110
Expert: Isaiah Sirois
Time: Saturday, Oct. 21 at 12 p.m. ET
Penn State-Ohio State Pick & Prediction
The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will host the No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions in a crucial Big Ten battle. Ohio State barely knocked off Notre Dame this season, so this matchup with another well-regarded team could be interesting. The books expect somewhat of a close battle with the Buckeyes trading as only a 5.5-point favorite. Still, Penn State has yet to beat a non-cupcake opponent this year. The Nittany Lions are coming off wins over UMass and Northwestern. Their best win to date was a 31-0 drubbing of Iowa, but is clobbering the worst offense in college football really that impressive?
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This game is a tough one for me because I am not a believer in either side. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day committed multiple fireable offenses against Notre Dame. Quarterback Kyle McCord did his best to throw a game-sealing interception, too. But the Buckeyes still rank second in the Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI), which puts them well ahead of the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions. Ohio State ranks eighth in both offense and defense in the metric, while Penn State ranks 17th and sixth, respectively. Penn State’s refusal to pass the ball aggressively downfield remains a major hindrance.
I can’t back Penn State here because I haven’t seen nearly enough from quarterback Drew Allar. He ranks 43rd in passing efficiency (145.3) despite Penn State’s 6-0 record. Importantly, he has looked extremely uncomfortable in road games. Allar’s career passing efficiency at home (167.2) is solid, but it plummets on the road (107), and it’s not like he has faced world-beating defense in his road starts. He took on Illinois in Week 4 and Northwestern in Week 6. Those defenses rank 49th and 74th in the FEI, respectively.
But while I haven’t seen enough from Allar or Penn State’s passing offense, I have seen just enough from Kyle McCord. He ranks 16th in passing efficiency this year (165.9) and will benefit from playing at home. Like Allar, he is a split-heavy quarterback — his home passing efficiency grade (199.7) far outweighs his road grade (130.5). Ohio State’s lone home conference game to this point came against Maryland, which, after the first half, looked competitive, but McCord and the offense put together an impressive second half, and the quarterback ended up with a grade of 181. I trust him against Ohio State on Saturday.➚➚
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I recommended buying a parlay of both Ohio State and Alabama to win their games outright in the early week column for odds of -101. That same parlay is now trading at -105, largely because of line movement in Ohio State’s favor. The Buckeyes were trading as 4-point favorites ten but are 5.5-point favorites now. But to take advantage of the boost at FanDuel, I recommend buying Ohio State as a 2.5-point favorite, which you can boost to odds of -113, close to the standard juice. The FEI makes the margin for this game 6.5, so Ohio State should cover this alt line with relative ease.
Penn State-Ohio State Week 8 Pick: Ohio State -2.5 -170 (-113 Boosted) at FanDuel
OddsShopper College Football Tools & Tips
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