Penn State Football vs. Rutgers and Week 7 Big Ten picks ATS
Penn State football a double digit favorite as they take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from SHI stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Penn State football finally picked up their first win of the season last week in Ann Arbor, 27-17. This week, the Nittany Lions travel to New Jersey to battle a much improved Rutgers at noon Saturdfay, after the Scarlet Knights picked up an impressive road victory over Purdue last week.
The Nittany Lions outgained the the Wolverines by over 130 total yards, and for the first time this season did not turn the ball over and put themselves in an early first half hole. Vegas seems to believe in Penn State Football again, as the Lions open as an 11 point favorite in Week 7.
The Big Ten is once again dealing with cancellations due to Covid-19, however Saturday offers an appetizing slate headlined by a ranked matchup in Madison, Wisconsin and conference favorite the Ohio State Buckeyes back in action after a week off.
Last week was our first winning week of the season, going 2-1 and bringing the season tally to a respectable .500. Let’s make some money!
Last week: 2-1
Record to Date: 10-10
Rutgers +11 vs Penn State
Penn State football not only picked up win No. 1 last week but also their first win ATS of 2020.
The Nittany Lions looked good last week, back to there winning formula from 2019, running the ball well allowing quarterback Sean Clifford managing the game and not do to much. The defense was stout, allowing only 286 yards to the Wolverines, allowing only 14 first downs.
With that being said, Michigan is BAD, and worse than that, seems they may have quit on head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Rutgers, while still not the most talented team Penn State will play this year, is a polar opposite.
The scarlet Knights are learning how to win and seem to believe in new head coach Greg Schiano. Rutgers is 2-4 this season, but could easily be 4-2 after letting second half leads slip away to Michigan and Illinois in previous weeks.
This is a Rutgers offense averaging 370 yards per game, converting an impressive 39% of third downs totaling 31 points per game, which is good for fifth in the Big Ten. The story is not so pretty for the Scarlet Knights however on the other side of the ball, as Rutgers is allowing a conference worst 36 points per game, and ranks near the bottom in yards per game allowed as well with 430. Only Ohio States has surrendered more passing yards per game within the conference, as the Knights are allowing 260 yards per game through the air.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford had his best all around performance of the year last week and should be in line to have another good week against this Rutgers pass defense. However, expect the Nittany Lions to once again rely on the ground game behind Big Ten freshman of the week running back Keyvone Lee. Rutgers has allowed a 100 yard rusher in each of their last three games.
Penn State is the better team, and should be motivated to build on last week’s performance and stack some wins down the stretch. Expect a motivated Rutgers squad that should make some plays on offense. Penn State wins, but fails to cover. Penn State 30-20.