Penn State-West Virginia Week 1 betting line: How big of a favorite are the Lions over the Mountaineers?
The first single-game betting line for Penn State football in 2024 is out. Sportsbook operators across the country posted win totals for each Power Five program earlier this year. The number for the Nittany Lions has sat at most shops at 9.5, though DraftKings moved it to 10.5 earlier this week. For those unaware, someone betting the over on the PSU win total at 9.5 would be backing the idea that head coach James Franklin’s team will win 10 regular season games or more this year. Someone betting the under would is predicting that the Lions will win nine games or fewer.
DraftKings, like many of its peers across the sports betting industry, will start releasing early game lines this month. Penn State was not part of FanDuel’s early games of the year release earlier this year, but it is part of DraftKings’ latest available market: Week 1 spreads. The gambling site calls Penn State a 12.5-point favorite over West Virginia for the teams’ Aug. 31 clash in Morgantown. A kick time and television network have not yet been announced.
Penn State could be a double-digit favorite over West Virginia for the second consecutive season
The 2024 opener for both West Virginia and Penn State closes out a two-year home-and-home series between the two schools. It started last year at Beaver Stadium. Lions quarterback Drew Allar threw for three touchdowns, including two to now-departed receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and Nicholas Singleton and Beau Pribula each had rushing touchdowns as the Lions opened things up after halftime to cruise to a 38-15 Week 1 triumph in 2023. The 23-point margin of victory meant Penn State covered the 21-point spread. If the opening 12.5-point number holds, grows, or only drops to 10 this year, Franklin’s team will be double-digit favorites over the Mountaineers for the second season in a row.
All-time, Penn State is 49-9-2 against WVU. It has also won five consecutive games in the series. The Lions are 7-1 since 1999 in August openers. Their last one came in 2019 when they blasted Idaho 79-7. The only other August opener for the team in the James Franklin era came in 2014. PSU took out UCF 26-24 that year in Ireland.
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