The #4 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are on the road to meet the USC Trojans in a West Coast Big Ten battle.
Penn State (5-0, 2-0 in Big Ten) is undefeated this season with four of their wins by at least two touchdowns. This is the smallest spread for the Nittany Lions all season (-4.5), and it’s their first road game since Week 1 at West Virginia (34-12).
USC (3-2, 1-2 in Big Ten) has lost two of their last three games including Michigan (27-24) and Minnesota (24-17). The Trojans lone Big Ten win was over Wisconsin (38-21). Outside of Notre Dame as the regular season finale, this will likely be USC’s toughest test.
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Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 3:30 PM EST
Site: LA Memorial Coliseum
City: Los Angeles, CA
TV/Streaming: CBS and Paramount+
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The latest odds as of Wednesday evening:
o Moneyline: Penn State -225, USC +180
o Spread: Penn State -5.5 (-110)
o Total: 50.5 points
*odds courtesy of BetMGM
Penn State opened as a -4.5-point favorite and has been bet up to -5.5 with a likelihood to close around -6.5 or -7. This is the lowest that Penn State has been favored all season. There has been no movement on the total of 50.5.
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) has the following best bets for Saturday’s matchup between Penn State and USC:
“USC is one of the most traveled teams in the country with a neutral field game versus LSU, then a bye week and home game versus Utah State followed by a tough stretch of going to Michigan (27-24 loss), coming back to L.A. to host Wisconsin (38-21 comeback win), and a road trip to Minnesota (24-17 loss).
Now, USC is back at home to host Penn State who has not been on the road since Week 1 when they made a short trip to West Virginia (34-12). USC was sluggish in the last two first halves, but Penn State wasn’t much better hosting UCLA last week.
The Trojans’ opportunity will come from a quick start for a Penn State team that hasn’t played in another time zone yet. I would target USC in the first quarter at +0.5 points or the +1.5 hosting Penn State.”
Highest Ticket%
· Ohio State 15.4%
· Texas 11.9%
· Georgia 11.5%
Highest Handle%
· Georgia 17.6%
· Ohio State 17.3%
· Texas 11.6%
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Penn State: Drew Allar has one of the best touchdown-to-interception ratios (9-1) in addition to three rushing scores and 1,190 total yards. Allar is on pace to surpass his career-high of 2,631 passing yards and 29 total touchdowns.
USC: Miller Moss has 9 touchdowns to 4 interceptions on the season, plus a 64.5 completion percentage. Moss has tossed at least 200 passing yards in all five games this season and six straight if you include his record 6 touchdown game over Louisville (42-28 win) in the DirectTV Holiday Bowl.
Penn State has covered 4 of its last 5 road matchups.
Penn State has won 9 of its last 11 games on the ML.
The Over is 7-3 in USC’s last 10 home games.
Penn State’s Drew Allar has thrown for more than 237 passing yards just once this season, while USC’s Miller Moss has done it three times.
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Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
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Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
Eric Froton (@CFFroton)
