Penn State at Rutgers: Prediction Roundtable

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 27: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after rushing for a 51 yard touchdown in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 27, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Corey Hunter, Contributor

Rutgers football has been something of a hot mess ever since Greg Schiano left for Tampa Bay and the NFL. Since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014, they are a combined 7-34 in league play, including 0-7 this season. In fact, Rutgers has not won a league game since defeating Maryland more than a year ago.

Rutgers has been mired in a general malaise all season. Outside of running back Raheem Blackshear and Isaih Pacheco, the offense has largely been stuck in neutral. Defensively, Rutgers ranks next to last in the Big Ten in rush defense giving up an average of 230.2 yards per game, and they are next to last in the conference in scoring defense allowing opponents to score 34.3 points per game.

A noon kick in enemy territory could be ingredients needed for a monumental upset, but Penn State simply has too much skill, talent, and speed to allow Rutgers to hem them in for four quarters. To their credit, Rutgers played Michigan tough for a half so the Nittany Lions better not take the Scarlet Knights for granted.

Still, Penn State should win this game relatively handily. The current line sits at PSU -28 and that seems about right to me.

Penn State – 38
Rutgers – 10

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