Week 12 College Football Predictions: Penn State at Rutgers

There is a lot of exciting stuff going on in college football now, with the end of the season and the playoffs now just a couple of weeks away from being decided. One thing that seems certain is that we are going to have a team from the Big Ten Conference in the final 4, but it’s still up I the air who that team will be. The waters in that conference became a whole lot murkier with Michigan losing last week, and it has now created a scenario where Penn State might just sneak in the back door. There are a couple of things that need to happen for that scenario to play out, and it all begins with the Nittany Lions winning their final two regular season games. If they do that, and Ohio State takes out Michigan in the final week of the season, it will be Penn State who win the Big Ten West division. The Nittany Lions look to have an easy time of things this weekend, as they are set to face Rutgers, who just happen to be one of the weakest teams in the conference. Find the latest betting odds here.

Analyzing The Week 12 College Football Predictions: Penn State Nittany Lions At Rutgers Scarlet Knights

When: Sunday, November 13 at 8 PM EST Where: High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway TV: Big Ten Network NCAAF Odds: TBA    

Why bet on the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State have put themselves in a position to win the division by winning 6 straight games, but they did get a little bit of a surprise last week on the road in Indiana. They found themselves trailing heading into the fourth quarter, but were able to raise their game and come away with a 45-31 win that was not as comfortable as the score suggests. That little scare may be a good thing, as it will make Penn State aware that they cannot simply cruise through the final two weeks of the season and hope to win. The Penn State Nittany Lions are 5-2 ATS versus conference foes this season, and are also 2-0 ATS as a road favorite.

Why bet on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

This season has been an unmitigated disaster for the Scarlet Knights, and they are heading into this weekend on a 7-game losing skid. The offense has disappeared completely during this run, as they have been kept scoreless 3 times, and held to just 7 points in two other games. I’m sure they must have looked at their meeting with Michigan State last week as a great chance to pick up a win, but they ended up getting shutout 49-0. Since arriving in the Big Ten, Rutgers have played Penn State twice, and have lost both meetings, managing only 13 total points in those two outings.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I’m not usually a fan of larger point spreads, but Penn State being a 28-point favorite for this one seems more than fair to me. I think this is a game that the Nittany Lions win going away.

Penn State Nittany Lions 42 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 3