The Penn State Nittany Lions are 1-5 SU and ATS in their last six games against the Michigan State Spartans. The Nittany Lions will try to put this slump behind them this Saturday afternoon with a road win in East Lansing over the Spartans.
- Penn State Nittany Lions vs Michigan State Spartans (Matchup Report)
- Date/Time: October 26, 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV Coverage: ABC
- Sportsbook Odds: Penn State -6.5 | O/U 42.5 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Early action on the Michigan State Spartans as 6.5-point underdogs has driven the line down a point to Penn State -5.5. This will be the 14th time in Penn State’s last 16 road games that the Nittany Lions are going off as a road favorite.
Penn State News & Notes
Penn State looked like it was on its way to a blowout win at home over the Michigan Wolverines last Saturday when the team jumped out to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Nittany Lions held on for the win to improve to 7-0 SU, but the 28-21 final score left Penn State backers holding a -7.5 ticket disappointed as the team fell to 4-3 ATS on the season.
Sean Clifford’s 56 percent completion rate, 182 passing yards and 17 rushing yards in the win won’t blow anyone away, but the sophomore avoided turnovers and tallied four scores with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Clifford has helped lead the team to an average margin of victory of 30 points per game over its 7-0 SU start.
Michigan State News & Notes
Michigan State’s offense has averaged 37.5 points per game in four wins this season, but in a 10-7 home loss to Arizona State and back-to-back road losses at Ohio State (34-10) and Wisconsin (38-0), the Spartans mustered a paltry 5.7 points per game. Facing a Penn State defense that ranks third in the nation in points allowed at only 10 per game, there is cause for concern heading into this one.
On the other hand, Mark Dantonio has had a bye week to prepare for this one, and his teams tend to deliver as home underdogs. The Spartans are 6-3 ATS in their last nine games as a home underdog with four outright upsets, including one as 10-point underdogs against Penn State in 2017.
Betting Pick: Nittany Lions -5.5
The Spartans defense has allowed 34.3 points per game over Michigan State’s last three games. Even with a strong showing this Saturday, the offense won’t be able to do enough to close the gap against Penn State.
- Penn State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road in October.
- Michigan State is 2-10 ATS in its last 12 games at home.
- The total has gone OVER in 16 of Penn State’s last 20 games vs Michigan State.
