The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to face the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend. Check out our college football odds series, which includes our Penn State-Ohio State prediction, odds, and pick.

Penn State is dealing with multiple related crises. The Nittany Lions have an injured quarterback, Sean Clifford, knowing that his backups aren't ready to play well if asked to. The loss to Iowa showed that a moderately injured Clifford is still probably the best quarterback Penn State has. The other crisis is that the offensive line isn't playing well enough to either protect Clifford or facilitate a rushing attack which can take heat off Clifford. The Nittany Lions' offensive woes were laid bare in a humiliating nine-overtime loss. Penn State scored just 18 points, falling to Illinois in an unwatchable football game.

The Ohio State Buckeyes played poorly in September but have come together in October. The high-powered offense which didn't emerge in the early weeks of the season has come alive in recent games. Ohio State just posted a 54-7 beatdown on Indiana, with quarterback C.J. Stroud finding the comfort zone which had eluded him in the first few weeks of the season. Ohio State looks like… Ohio State. That's bad news for Penn State, but not necessarily an indication of what will transpire on Saturday night in Columbus.

Here’s how the bookmakers have set the Penn State-Ohio State odds:

College Football odds: Penn State-Ohio State Odds

Penn State: +18.5 (-110)

Ohio State: -18.5 (-110)

Over: 61.5 (-106)

Under: 61.5 (-114)

*Watch College Football Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)

Why Penn State Could Cover the Spread

The Penn State-Ohio State pick you make should account for the recent years of this rivalry. If you study this series, you will see that the winning team did not play especially well, at least not for four full quarters. This series has been marked by dramatic shifts in momentum and wacky plays which changed the course of the proceedings. Ohio State has won the last four games in this series, but two of those wins were by one point after Penn State outplayed the Buckeyes in the first half. In each of the last two seasons, Ohio State had Justin Fields at quarterback. Last year, Penn State had one of its worst seasons in recent memory. Yet, on neither occasion did the Buckeyes deliver a true knockout blow. PSU was able to keep each of those games close despite the Bucks' vastly superior talent.

Penn State's defense usually contains Ohio State's offense and doesn't allow the Buckeyes to pull away in these games. Yes, Penn State's offense is terrible, but the defense can put the clamps on OSU; it has done so before. That's worth thinking about when assessing the Penn State-Ohio State odds.

Why Ohio State Could Cover the Spread

The Buckeyes have emerged from their rut. Ohio State played below-average football for much of September, struggling with Tulsa and losing to Oregon in a game which becomes even stranger by the week. C.J. Stroud looked very unsure of himself in September. The Buckeyes' defense was completely disorganized in the first month of the season.

In October, it has been a very different story.

Ohio State has begun to deliver very authoritative and easy wins against the also-rans of the Big Ten, rounding into form and quickly quelling any fears of significant regression in Year 1 of the post-Justin Fields era. There was a sense, at least for a few weeks, that Ryan Day was searching for answers. That period of doubt is gone, at least temporarily. If Ohio State plays with the crispness and confidence witnessed in recent weeks, the Bucks can blow the doors off Penn State.

Final Penn State-Ohio State Prediction & Pick

Ohio State could win big, but Penn State — even though it is likely to lose outright — is usually very good at dragging the Buckeyes into the mud and playing an ugly game. The Nittany Lions against the spread, with the under, offer two plays to make in this game.

Final Penn State-Ohio State Pick: Penn State +18.5, under 61.5