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College Football Odds: Penn State at Michigan

Written October 20, 2009 by Rock Henderson

Joe Paterno will take his 13th ranked Nittany Lions to Michigan this weekend to clash with Rich Rodriguez and the upstart Wolverines. Penn State hasn’t had much success recently at the Big House as they have been losers of five in a row there. 39 unanswered points by State last year snapped a nine game losing streak to their rivals from Ann Arbor overall. QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster lead a potent offensive attack for the Lions. Michigan got back on the winning side of things with a beat down of over matched Delaware State team after losing their prior two games by a combined eight points. This is a key match-up for both squads to stay alive in the Big Ten race as a second loss for PSU most likely takes them out of consideration for a BCS bowl. The Nittany Lions are listed as a 4.5 point favorite according to the current college football lines.

One can say a lot of things about Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez, but he continues to prove that he is a winner. The Wolverines have such a storied football program that a 5-2 start is considered a disappointment most of the time, but there has been progress made in year 2 under Rich Rod and that is what Michigan alums were looking for. The steps forward have been under the direction of a true freshman quarterback in Tate Forcier. Not expected to see much action in his first year at UM, Forcier won the starting position in spring practice but has seen his fair share of bumps in the road along the way. He was yanked in the second half at Iowa in favor of dual threat QB Denard Robinson who almost managed a fourth quarter comeback. It was later discovered that Forcier suffered a minor concussion in the game. The Wolverines have relied heavily on their run game this season as four players have amassed over 200 yards and 21 of their 32 total touchdowns have came by way of the ground attack. Michigan’s defense is allowing over 360 yards per game and with a very young secondary in tact. Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson has tried to find ways to hide their weakness and will face another stern test against a Penn State team that is averaging almost 240 yards passing per game. Sign up now for an account with Bodog to do your college football betting and take advantage of their unlimited 10% deposit bonus!

Conference play didn’t exactly begin with a bang for Penn State when they dropped their opener at home to a strong Iowa team. Paterno’s squad has rallied for three straight wins and a 6-1 record overall. Senior QB Darryl Clark has played well for the most part this season, throwing for 1654 yards and 13 scores but his seven interceptions need to be minimized down the stretch. State has the luxury of relying on one of the best running backs in the nation to get them out of tough situations if their passing game stalls. Evan Royster has gained 641 yards on only 110 carries and has found the goal line four times. Clark has done a nice job spreading the ball around to Nittany Lion wide receiver’s as four have caught 20 plus balls. The defensive side of the ball is anchored by MLB Sean Lee even though Lee has missed a considerable amount of time due to injury. Opponents are only managing a little over 238 yards against this stingy unit and Michigan’s young quarterbacks could be in for a long day this weekend.

Penn State is the much more talented team, but Michigan has always given Paterno fits. Head to head, State is just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 meetings. Michigan is just 2-8 ATS in their last 10 conference games so all signs point to Penn State right? The Wolverines will be hungry for a marquee win and the Nittany Lions coming to the Big House provide the perfect opportunity. Play: Michigan +4.5

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