Kent State vs. No. 10 Penn State final odds and predictions

The Penn State Nittany Lions are one week away from starting Big Ten play, but before that, they’ll get a visit from 0-3 Kent State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The Golden Flashes have lost to Pitt, FCS St. Francis, and last week 71-0 to No. 6 Tennessee. James Franklin’s team needs a bounce-back performance after struggling with Bowling Green in Week 2 and sliding back to No. 10 in the AP poll while on a bye in Week 3. 

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has been impressive to start his junior season and will have an opportunity to pad his stats against Kent State, but defensive coordinator Tom Allen will need to spend this week figuring things out on his side of the ball. Penn State will be without star safety Kevin Winston Jr. who has a long-term injury that will keep him on the sidelines, these reps will be valuable before Illinois comes to Happy Valley in Week 5. 

Even with question marks on defense, Penn State is a massive favorite ahead of its matchup with Kent State at 3:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network in Week 4. Let’s check out the odds. 

Kent State vs. Penn State odds, spread, and total

These odds are available in the FanDuel Sportsbook. 

Moneyline

• Kent State: N/A
• Penn State: N/A

Spread

• Kent State +48.5 (-102)
• Penn State -48.5 (-120)

Total

• 55.5 (over -115/under -105)

Kent State vs. Penn State prediction

Penn State views itself as a team on Tennessee’s level, and in a roundabout way, the Nittany Lions have a chance to prove it this week. The Vols didn’t just beat Kent State 71-0, they gained 740 yards to Kent State’s 112, ran for 456 yards, and star running back Dylan Sampson racked up four touchdowns. 

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has relied on Drew Allar hitting explosive plays for his unit to be dynamic, but in Week 4, Allar just needs to keep the operation on schedule to allow Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to dominate the game. Offensively, the Nittany Lions should be fine, but a shutout doesn’t feel quite as likely. 

Without Winston in the secondary, Jaylen Reed will be forced to move back to his deep safety spot next to Zakee Wheatley with Cam Miller taking snaps at slot cornerback. That alignment takes Reed out of his best position, so Allen can also experiment with true freshman Dejuan Lane at deep safety, to keep Reed in the slot. 

With so much experimentation, I’d expect Kent State to put together a few scoring drives which will help this one go over the total of 55.5. I’ll predict a 51-10 finish at Beaver Stadium on Saturday with the Nittany Lions improving to 3-0.