The Wildcats will do battle with the visiting Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, looking to bolster their record and fatten the pocketbooks of bettors who back them.

They will face the 6-1 Nittany Lions, who own a 1-6 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Wildcats are 4-2 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Nittany Lions are 0-5-1 favoring the OVER.



View Penn State vs Northwestern Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: Northwestern opened as 3.5-point underdogs. The total was to be set a bit later in the week for over under betting purposes.

Power Rankings / Prediction: The OddsShark Power Rankings have the Wildcats at No. 65 and the Nittany Lions at No. 12 heading into this contest. Handicapping models project a 33-21 result in favor of the Nittany Lions.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Northwestern's No. 62-ranked offense, averaging 28.3 PPG, against a Nittany Lions defense that ranks No. 6 this week at 11.6 PPG. The Wildcats aerial game is averaging 223.5 yards per game, more than the Nittany Lions secondary allows through the air, 161.1 YPG per game.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions feature the league's No. 9-rated road run defense, allowing 73 yards per game. Northwestern, meanwhile, ranks No. 27 in rushing offense at home.

In their last action, Penn State was a 23-18 Sportsbook at home against Purdue. They failed to cover the 12–point spread as favorites, while the combined score (41) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Northwestern lost its last outing, a 41-31 result against Iowa on October 15. Northwestern failed to cover in that game as a 6.5-point underdog, while the 72 combined points took the game OVER the total.


Penn State Nittany Lions Trends:
When playing in October are 8-2
When playing on grass are 7-3
After outgaining opponent are 5-5
When playing within the conference are 7-3

Northwestern Wildcats Trends:
When playing in October are 3-7
When playing on grass are 4-6
After outgaining opponent are 4-6
When playing within the conference are 2-8

A few Nittany Lions at Wildcats trends to consider:
Penn State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Penn State's last 6 games
Penn State is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing Northwestern
Penn State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Northwestern
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northwestern's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northwestern's last 5 games at home
Northwestern is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games at home
Northwestern is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home


Next up:
Penn State home to Illinois, Saturday, October 29
Northwestern at Indiana, Saturday, October 29