On Saturday, the #5 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions host the visiting Georgia State Panthers in what can only be described as a glorified scrimmage. Beaver Stadium will be rocking for this night game that kicks off at 7:30 P.M. ET and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
For the Georgia State Panthers (0-1), this is their Bowl Game. Heading up north to one of the best teams in the nation, the Panthers are looking to shock the world. Unfortunately, the best they can hope for is to keep the game within the 38 point spread.
Penn State (2-0) has another easy game on their early schedule, which can go one of two ways: either a total destruction or a lackluster, uninspired performance. Next week, the Nittany Lions open up their Big 10 schedule as they travel to Iowa. So, I expect them to blow out the Panthers by half time and then let the backups play.
The spread opened with Penn State as a 38.5 point favorite. Depending on which book you look at, the line ranges from Penn State being favored by 38 to 39 points. The Over/Under opened at 53.5 points and currently remains at this total.
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Penn State will devour the Panthers. But, for the 5th ranked team in the country, they can’t afford any letdowns that affect their position in the polls. This is a game where they need to reflect their dominance on the scoreboard, not just the field.
Georgia State is getting a $1.2 million dollar paycheck to be the practice squad for PSU this week. You have to give the Panthers coach Shawn Elliott credit for getting the team prepared and motivated to face Penn State. Additionally, Elliott is using this game as a measuring stick for his program. Unfortunately, it’s going to be all bad for Elliott and his team this week as they visit Beaver Stadium and the raucous PSU fans.
PSU is averaging 42.5 points per game, over 440 yards per game, and doing this with a balanced offensive attack led by quarterback Trace McSoreley and stud running back Saquon Barkley. The Panthers allowed 238 yards rushing in their only game this season, and you can bet that Barkley and the rest of the PSU running backs will take advantage of that weak rush defense. And, just when they think Barkley will run, McSorely will hit them with the play action pass for multiple scores.
Last week Trace seemed a bit off against Pitt, mostly due to being overly excited for the game. This week, he will calm down and play to his normal level of expectations. Watch for the Nittany Lion offensive starters to exit in the 3rd quarter as the game will be out of hand by then. I can see the defensive starters staying longer if they’re working on a shutout.
Georgia State is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games. Penn State is 10-0-1 ATS in their last 11 games and 7-0-1 ATS in their last 8 games at home. Another nugget is that PSU is 5-0 ATS against a road team with a losing record.
I expect PSU to cover the 53.5 points Over by themselves in this game. I can see this going 56-0 or 63-7 by time the scoreboard shows 0:00 on the game clock. Look for the PSU offense to put up some monster stats, while the defense shuts down Georgia State’s offense. It’s going to be happy times in Happy Valley this weekend as the campus and town enjoys the last weekend of “scrimmages” before Big 10 play.