Ladies and gentlemen, do we have a college football showdown for you! A premier Big Ten-SEC matchup will be underway on Saturday as the #22 Penn State Nittany Lions do battle with the Auburn Tigers in the final week of the college football non-conference scheduled slate. With that being said, it is time to take a look at our college football odds series, where our Penn State-Auburn prediction and pick will be made.
After an impressive showing that resulted in a 46-10 beatdown over Ohio, the 22nd-ranked Nittany Lions enter Week 3 of the College Football season looking like a squad that could possibly contend for a Big Ten title. With senior QB Sean Clifford leading the charge on offense, can Penn State get the job done in a hostile SEC environment down south to further prove to the rest of the country that they belong among the nation's elite?
Similarly to the Nittany Lions, the Auburn Tigers enter the football weekend with a 2-0 record after disposing of Mercer and San Jose State in the first two weeks of the season. While they certainly squared off with great competition up to this point when it comes to their non-conference schedule, they will be tested in more ways than one with Penn State coming to town. With the 2022 season serving as head coach Bryan Harsin serving his second season in Auburn, does he have what it takes to lead the troops to a triumphant upset victory in front of the home fans?
Here are the Penn State-Auburn college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Penn State-Auburn Odds
Penn State Nittany Lions: -3.5 (+100)
Auburn Tigers: +3.5 (-122)
Over: 47.5 (-112)
Under: 47.5 (-108)
Why Penn State Could Cover The Spread
In a rematch from last season's eight-point win against Auburn at home, the Nittany Lions feel like they have the firepower both offensively and defensively to put the Tigers in their place for a second-consecutive season. This time around, Penn State has a tremendous opportunity to bolster its college football playoff resume with a hard-fought SEC road win prior to entering conference play next weekend.
For starters, the Nittany Lions are led by a veteran signal-caller in six-year quarterback Sean Clifford. With Clifford's experience under center, Penn State is extremely balanced with the ball in their possession. Whether it's freshman tailback Nicholas Singleton gashing defenders for long runs or Western Kentucky transfer wideout Mitchell Tinsley exploiting the soft spots in defenses, the Nittany Lions have plenty of weapons to go around on offense. If Penn State strikes early and often, then it will be hard for Auburn to keep up in the scoring department throughout the day.
Additionally, Penn State has been like a swarm of bees defensively, as they often times partake in gang tackles and possess the lateral speed to compete with any school's offense in the country. After holding Purdue and Ohio to less than 50% of passes completed combined, the Nittany Lions are led by an extremely talented secondary that excels at jamming receivers at the line. Without a doubt, the Tigers will have their hands full on offense.
Why Auburn Could Cover The Spread
In an ultra-competitive SEC conference that currently has eight schools ranked in the AP Top-25, this contest versus Penn State could serve as the perfect opportunity for Auburn to start clicking on all cylinders before the rest of their schedule becomes incredibly difficult.
In order to cover the +3.5 point spread at their home stadium, Auburn will need to play with a greater sense of urgency at the quarterback position. While the Tigers have the athletes to compete with a team like Penn State, they have been largely inconsistent at quarterback as T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford have failed to look the part two games in. Not to mention, but Auburn QBs have only combined to throw for one total touchdown on the season and have oftentimes looked super one-dimensional on offense.
Be on the lookout for the rock-solid Tank Bigsby to build off of his 198 rushing yards on the campaign while Jarquez Hunter continues to find his way to pay dirt as he has already found the end zone four times so far this season. If the offensive line can create running lanes for these duo of halfbacks, then that will set up the Tigers to catch the Nittany Lions off guard with some play-action passes.
Most importantly in last year's matchup, Auburn was able to control the line of scrimmage for the most part as the Tigers surrendered less than 3.0 yards per carrying when Penn State decided to run the football. Clearly, Auburn has some big boys up front that will make life challenging for Penn State's offensive line and company.
Final Penn State-Auburn Prediction & Pick
At first glance, this marquee matchup has the makings of a game that could come down to the wire. Even though the Tigers have won 17 straight non-conference home games dating back to 2016, Penn State has a major advantage in establishing a perimeter game downfield that should be enough to cover the -3.5 spread on the road and also improve to 3-0 on the young season.
Final Penn State-Auburn Prediction & Pick: Penn State -3.5 (+100)
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