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What is the Penn State-Ohio State point spread? It, and the total, are out for Saturday's matchup

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel6 hours agoGregPickel
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Penn State's Kaytron Allen (13) blocks for fellow running back Nick Singleton (10) in the first half of an NCAA football game against Ohio State, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in State College, Pa. (© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Penn State (3-4) returns to action this Saturday when the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to take on the No. 1 Ohio State inside The Horseshoe. Kickoff is at Noon ET. FOX will televise the contest. Head coach Ryan Day’s team is 7-0 and is coming off a week off, just like interim head coach Terry Smith’s team.

The Nittany Lions spent their bye week focusing on how to rebound from four consecutive losses. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, focused on sorting out their offensive line while trying to find ways to get their ground game going.

“The No. 1 goal is to just win,” Day said this week. “If it’s 14-7, we have to be really, really excited about that. I think, in college football before there was the playoff system, but even still now at a place like Ohio State, there’s certain things – quote-unquote “look test” and style points, which is a pretty dangerous place to go sometimes. Because the No. 1 goal is to win.”

Said Smith back on Tuesday:

“The message right now is, stay together. We went and fought [at Iowa]. I told you guys last week, we will get those guys to play hard. They played extremely hard. They left it up there. Now, the key is, finish. There’s plays on the offense, the defense, the special teams, just lead[changing plays out there. We’ve got to close.

“And you know, the defense has to get off the field when the offense scores and puts us up. And the offense has to score touchdowns instead of field goals late in the game. We can’t have bobbled, mishandled punt return, kick return. So, we got to get all that cleaned up. And those are all the little things that are keeping us from victory.”

What is the opening betting info for Penn State-Ohio State?

Back in the summer, BetMGM had Ohio State as a field goal favorite in this contest. The number is much bigger now, of course. Penn State is an 20.5-point underdog. The total is 44.5 points.

According to historical betting data provided by OddsShark, this is the biggest point spread in this matchup since the Buckeyes were a 15.5-point favorite back in 2022. They have been favored by 10-plus points over the Lions seven times since 2010. That number is now eight, of course. And, the betting public will surely line up to back the home side, considering what Penn State is taking into Ohio Stadium.