What are the Penn State point spreads for clashes with USC, Ohio State, and Wisconsin?
Penn State football will be favored in most of its games this fall. That’s typically been the case for the Nittany Lions during the James Franklin era. They are guaranteed to be favored over all three non-conference foes and likely by three-to-four touchdowns, if not more. Draft Kings opened Penn State as a 12-point road favorite over West Virginia in the first week of May for the contest that will be played in Morgantown during Week 1 of the 2024 college football season. In the days since it was first posted, the line dropped a point to 11. That move alone doesn’t tell us much about the betting public perception of either the Lions or Mountaineers. But, a move toward 14 or to 10 or lower would certainly indicate which team bettors want to back at this early stage.
Aside from the opening tilt of the year, Draft Kings has released a few more lines for Penn State this fall. Here they are:
Sat, Oct. 12: Penn State -6 at USC
Sat, Oct. 26: Penn State -7 at Wisconsin
Sat., Nov. 2: Ohio State -2 at Penn State
More lines will be released throughout May and the rest of the late spring and early summer en route to kickoff.
Thoughts on the three new lines for Penn State in 2024
Our analysis will run in chronological order. So, we’ll start with the Lions’ first trip to USC in the new Big Ten era. Head coach Lincoln Riley’s team is replacing many pieces, including 2024 No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick and quarterback Caleb Williams. The line feels a bit light and like what that could move up in the months ahead. Sure, Penn State also has three new coordinators and is without the services of eight draft picks. But the portal did not change much for either side. And, the visitors for this contest had a talent edge on paper prior to spring practice. With USC sporting a win total of just seven compared to the Lions’ 10.5, we’ll be surprised if this number doesn’t rise.
Moving on to the Wisconsin game, the Badgers are in a similar boat to USC. They are in the back half of ESPN analyst Bill Connelly’s SP+ top 25 and also sport a win total of seven. Head coach Luke Fickell’s team is still trying to sort out its quarterback situation, though the offense should run through returning back Chez Mellusi and Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker. Wisconsin should be better than it was a year ago. But, there is still a gap between it and Penn State. Expect this line to grow, too.
Last but not least on our rundown is the matchup with the Buckeyes to kick off November. Ohio State returns an outrageous amount of talent and is a deserving top five team. This line would be higher if not for the immense respect oddsmakers give to Beaver Stadium. The Buckeyes have questions to answer, of course. But, we’d expect that if this line move, it will be toward OSU and away from PSU.
