Purdue v. Penn State Football Betting Lines
Written October 2, 2008 by Jimmy Boyd
Sixth ranked Penn State looks to get to 6-0 when it visits the Purdue Boilermakers this Saturday. The game will be just Penn State’s second road contest of the season, but that does not have odds makers spooked as they have installed the Nittany Lions as 13-point favorites with the total set at 58 in what figures to be a high scoring affair.
Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions passed their first conference test of the season with flying colors, defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini by a score of 38-24. The Lions know that if they want to win the Big Ten Conference title, they can’t afford any slipups against teams they should beat along the way.
History is looking good for the Nittany Lions here as they hold 9-3-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won three straight over Purdue.
Last week, Penn State did it without one of their top offensive weapons as wideout Jordan Norwood missed the game with a hamstring injury. Fellow wideout Derrick Williams stepped up in Norwood’s absence, scoring three times in three different ways (rushing, receiving, kickoff return) while racking up nearly half of Penn State’s 497 total yards. Tailback Evan Royster racked up 139 yards on the ground and QB Daryll Clark passed for 181 more yards.
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Penn State is averaging over 515 yards of total offense per game and scoring 49.8 points per contest. The dazzling offensive effort has no doubt overshadowed the solid defensive play.
Penn State is only allowing 12.8 points per game and just 252.2 yards of offense. Perhaps the most striking statistic is that the Nittany Lion defense is only allowing a 27 percent third down conversion rate. If you think the Nittany Lions can cover the number on the road, bet Penn State at -13 at BetUS.
Joe Tiller’s Boilermakers will try to bounce back from a poor second half performance at Notre Dame last week. The Boilermakers are 2-2 on the season and will be making their Big Ten debut this week.
QB Curtis Painter is perhaps the best pure passer in the league. He was 29 of 55 for 359 yards and two touchdowns last week at Notre Dame. Painter needs only 70 yards to move into second place on the school’s all-time list. Led by Painter, the Purdue offense is tallying over 400 yards of offense per game. As you may have guessed, it hasn’t been the offense that has been the problem in Purdue’s two defeats.
Purdue’s defense is allowing 26.2 points per game and has been terrible against the run, yielding 194.5 yards per game on the ground. The Boilermakers are going to have to get into the Penn State backfield this week and cause some havoc. They have 21 tackles for loss and seven sacks on the season. It’s going to take this type of disruption to keep Penn State from getting into its offensive groove.
Middle linebacker Anthony Heygood in the man to watch on the Boilermaker defense. He leads the team with 40 tackles and also has an interception and forced a fumble.
Purdue will likely have to win in a shootout this week and they have the offensive firepower to do it. Penn State’s defense will get its first true test against a savvy veteran QB and if it gives up too many big plays the Boilermakers will be right there at the end. If you think the Boilermakers can keep this one within the number, bet Purdue at +13 at BetUS.
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