The Penn State Nittany Lions and Indiana Hoosiers kick off their 2020 regular season at Memorial Stadium at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday. We analyze the Penn State-Indiana college football betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Penn State is seventh in the Amway Coaches Poll power by USA TODAY Sports.
Penn State at Indiana: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 2:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Penn State -223 (bet $223, win $100) | Indiana +180 (bet $100, win $180)
- Against the spread/ATS: Penn State -6 (-110) | Indiana +6 (-110)
- Over/Under: 61.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Penn State at Indiana: Three things to know
- Indiana is not selling tickets to the general public in accordance with Big Ten’s COVID-19 policies
- Penn State will be without two key contributors from last season. RB Journey Brown (Heisman hopeful) may miss the season due to an undisclosed medical condition and LB Micah Parsons opted out of the season.
- Indiana won eight games for the first time since 1993 last season and has the 11th-highest return of production according to ESPN. Penn State is 47th in ESPN’s return of production database.
Get some action on this game or any other matchup with a legal, online bet at BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks, in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Risk-free first bet up to $500, paid in free bets. Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!
Penn State at Indiana: Odds, prediction, betting lines and picks
Prediction
Indiana 31, Penn State 27
Money line (ML)
Redshirt sophomore QB Michael Penix Jr. is a dual-threat quarterback the Indiana program is excited to have under center for its whole season. He’s replacing senior QB Peyton Ramsey who transferred to Northwestern. Ramsey started 12 games in 2018 and took a majority of the snaps in 2019 as Penix missed significant time with injuries.
Penix was a more efficient passer than Ramsey last season and is a problem when he scrambles. Also, Indiana is returning its leading rusher (RB Stevie Scott) and leading receiver (WR Whop Philyor) in 2020.
These are problems Penn State (-223) would love to have Parsons in the lineup to help with. He was Penn State’s leading tackler in 2019 (109) and had the second-most tackles for a loss behind second-round NFL draft pick DE Yetur Gross-Matos (Carolina Panthers).
I’ll take a small flyer on INDIANA (+180) to pull off a road upset but I’m making a much larger play on the spread.
Against the spread (ATS)
The INDIANA +6 (-110) line is a much better play. Penn State -6 (-110) is returning Junior QB Sean Clifford and his entire offensive line, he’s without Brown due to injury and Penn State’s leading receiver from 2019—K.J. Hamler—was drafted by the Denver Broncos. I have confidence Indiana will be able to slow down Penn State enough offensively since its returning 82% of its defensive production.
Also, the Nittany Lions are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games in Indiana and have failed to cover in back-to-back meetings. The home team is 6-2-1 ATS in the last nine Penn State-Indiana games.
Over/Under (O/U)
My Penn State-Indiana handicap has the total hovering right around BetMGM’s listed total of 61.5. I “LEAN” UNDER 61.5 (-110) since Penix is returning from injury so he might have to settle in. Additionally, Penn State is without so much offensive production and there are upperclassmen all over the Hoosier defense.
Want some action on this game? Place a legal, online sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow @Geoffery_Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional college football coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama football / Auburn football / Florida football / Georgia football / LSU football / Michigan football / Michigan State football / Notre Dame football / Ohio State football / Oklahoma football / Tennessee football / Texas football / USC football / Wisconsin football
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]