Early Penn State football point spreads: New odds are out for the Lions' clashes with Iowa, Indiana, and more

If you enjoy recruiting, then this should be one of your favorite times of the year, as decisions are being made constantly that will shape future college football rosters. If you prefer simply focusing on the next season, however, this isn’t a bad time of year either. Preview magazines and stories are coming out in bulk. Summer workouts are progressing. Roster updates are happening. And, betting operators are posting new point spreads that offer a glimpse at how big, or small, of a favorite Penn State will be in some of its games this year.

FanDuel is out with a fresh set of game lines for the fall. The outlet previously only had the Lions’ opener with Nevada lined. Head coach James Franklin’s team is listed as a 45.5-point favorite over the Wolfpack for a 3:30 p.m. ET matchup on CBS with a total of 59.5. Those numbers have hardly changed since going up. Now, though, four more point spreads are out. They are as follows:

Sept. 27: Oregon at Penn State (-3.5), with an over/under total of 52.5 points

Oct. 18: PSU (-10.5) at Iowa; 46.5

Nov. 1: Penn State at Ohio State (-3.5); 50.5.

Nov. 8: Indiana at PSU (-16.5); 53.5

Using the spreads and totals as a guide, FanDuel is projecting the following (rough) scores for those five games:

PSU 52, Nevada 7

Penn State 28, Oregon 24

Penn State 28, Iowa 18

Ohio State 27, Penn State 23

Penn State 35, Indiana 18

What do we make of these five early Penn State point spreads?

For starters, it feels like a guarantee that the Nevada line will close closer to Penn State -50 when all is said and done. The Lions simply have too much preseason hype, and James Franklin too much history when it comes to covering massive spreads, to think that one stays under seven touchdowns.

The Oregon and Ohio State lines, then, align with the numbers DraftKings has previously posted. We’d expect both to still be in the range of a field goal one way or the other by the time those contests happen.

When it comes to the Indiana and Iowa numbers, those are the first we’ve seen a line posted for either of those games. SP+ metrics from ESPN’s Bill Connelly suggested (with home field factored in) that Penn State would be 13-point favorite at the Hawkeyes and an 18-point favorite against the Hoosiers. Neither line is that far off, of course, though it wouldn’t shock us if each rises by the time kickoff approaches.

You can read more about Penn State’s projected point spreads for 2025 based on the SP+ metrics here.