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What is the Penn State-Delaware spread? Betting line finally revealed before kickoff

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel09/09/23

GregPickel

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The Penn State Nittany Lion mascot . (Credit: Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Penn State football is a massive favorite for Saturday’s Week 2 college football clash with Delaware. Oddsmakers waited much longer than normal to release the point spread and over/under total because of the FBS vs. FCS nature of the contest, which is set for Noon ET at Beaver Stadium on Peacock. But, both have now been revealed.

The Nittany Lions are a 41-point favorite at FanDuel. The total for the game is 50.5.

Head coach James Franklin’s team last faced an FCS opponent in 2021. The Lions beat Villanova 38-17 but did not cover as 29.5-point favorites. This marks the 10th time since 2017 that Penn State is a favorite of at least three touchdowns in a home non-conference matchup in September. They are 7-3 against the spread in those contests, according to Odds Shark.

“The main focus is knowing who we are,” Delaware coach Ryan Carty said this week, per The Daily State News. “You’re going into an environment that’s obviously a tough one to play in against a team that’s obviously, on paper, more talented. You have to make sure you go out there and focus on yourselves, do the right things, do your job and play so hard.”

Crowd in focus for both sides on Saturday

At his Tuesday news conference, Penn State coach James Franklin hoped for another raucous Beaver Stadium crowd this weekend after more than 110,000 fans showed up for the Lions’ 38-15 Week 1 win over West Virginia. It was the fourth-largest crowd in the venue’s storied history.

“I want to thank our fans. The environment was phenomenal. It was a great crowd. Obviously one of the larger crowds, especially for an opening weekend, that we’ve ever had. So that was awesome.

“What a statement it would be this weekend if we’re able to do it again. So challenge all of our fans to come out, and let’s enjoy another Saturday in Beaver Stadium, and we’re very, very appreciative of the environment and the type of support we get.”

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Carty has an idea of what his team is in for. He told The Daily State News that his team must be ready for it, even if none of them have ever played in a venue and setting like the one they will on Saturday.

More: Penn State vs. Delaware Predictions: What should fans expect against the Blue Hens?

“I think it’s really more about the guys we have in the locker room more than the people in the stands,” Carty said. “Any environment you go into, you like to do your best to relish in that environment and use it your advantage. That’s going to be hard on third downs when we get to the red zone by the student section. But other than that, try to enjoy it as much as you can and have fun with it. Any time you’re in a stadium with a ton of people in it, it obviously brings out the competitor in you who wanted to be in major-college football in the first place.

“Hopefully we can keep our emotions in check during those moments, try our best to calm our heart rates and hopefully the meditation we’ve done has helped us so we can really calm down and just focus on our execution and play our game.”

Penn State-Delaware will only be available to watch via subscription streaming service Peacock. Learn more by clicking here.

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