Before you know it, Penn State football will be back. Fans of the Nittany Lions won’t have to wait quite as long as they typically do every offseason as Penn State’s season opener at Purdue has been moved up to a Thursday night to help lead into the first full weekend of college football action in 2022. And it appears the Nittany Lions will be starting an interesting 2022 season as a slight favorite on the road against the potentially dangerous Boilermakers.
The first batch of game odds from Tipico for the opening weeks of the college football season have officially been released, including Penn State’s road game at Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 1. Penn State is a slight favorite on the road, with Tipico giving the home team just over a field goal on the point spread. There hasn’t been a point total assigned to the game by Tipico at this point in time.
This will mark the third consecutive season Penn State will open a new year on the road and against a Big Ten opponent. Penn State lost ay Indiana to start a modified 2020 schedule in Big Ten-only play, and the Nittany Lions won a defensive battle in Madison against Wisconsin to open the 2021 season.
Penn State is 15-3-1 all-time against Purdue, and the Nittany Lions currently own a nine-game winning streak in the series dating back to 2005. Penn State is 7-2 all-time in games played on Purdue’s campus. The most recent trip to Ross-Ade Stadium resulted in a 62-24 victory by Penn State. Purdue held a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter but [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag] passed for 228 yards and three touchdowns, two of which were thrown to [autotag]Chris Godwin[/autotag], and [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] went off for 207 yards and two touchdowns as Penn State dominated the second half after being tied at 17-17 at halftime.
This year’s matchup should be considerably closer than that lopsided result. Penn State’s last loss at Purdue came in 2003, with No. 18 Purdue coming on top by a score of 28-14 with Kyle Orton playing quarterback for the Boilermakers. Penn State’s [autotag]Micahel Robinson[/autotag] had a rough day throwing the football, completing just 10 of his 32 pass attempts with two interceptions and 98 total passing yards.
Purdue will have some questions at the wide receiver position after losing its leading receiver to the NFL draft and losing its returning leading receiver to an injury. Given that Penn State is a bit of a mystery heading into the 2022 season with a lack of general consensus on just where the team stands, this small point spread seems to make sense this far out from kickoff.
The lines, courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook
- Point spread: Penn State -3.5 (-114)
- Money line: Penn State -170 / Purdue +133
- Over-under: N/A
Click here to place your bets at Tipico Sportsbook.
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