Ohio vs Penn State Betting Preview: Looking for 11th Straight
Bobcats: Tough Row to Hoe in Happy Valley

Penn State Looks to Continue its Dominance Against Non-Power-5 teams
Ohio vs Penn State Betting Preview: Penn State has won 13 straight regular-season games against non-Power 5 teams. That run began with a 27-14 win over Buffalo on Sept. 5, 2015. Ohio is 2-8 against teams from Power-5 conferences over the last nine seasons.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a thrilling win over Purdue in the season opener. The offense did score 35 points with four of the five touchdowns coming through the air. However, Penn State’s two quarterbacks completed just 54 percent of their passes and that is a number that will need to improve.
Ohio vs Penn State betting preview is showing the host Nittany Lions as 26-point favorites.
Penn State (+1200) has the fourth-best odds to win the Big Ten championship. Ohio (+1400) is eighth in the odds to win the MAC title.
The Nittany Lions (+10000) are tied for 13th in the odds to win the national title. Ohio comes in at +25000 in the championship odds.
Penn State is the second team in the also receiving votes category in both the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association polls. A win this week will likely result in the Nittany Lions breaking into the top 25 in both polls.
Ohio vs Penn State Game Information
- Game: Ohio 1-0, Penn State 1-0
- Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
- Day/Time:
- Television: ABC
Ohio Bobcats
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke opened the season by passing for a career-high 345 yards on 24 of 37 passing. He has four touchdown passes and no interceptions in a 41-38 win over Florida Atlantic.
He spread things around with five receivers having at least four catches led by James Bostic, who had 136 yards on six receptions and a touchdown. Sam Wiglusz had a pair of TD grabs.
Freshman Sieh Bangura had 114 rushing yards. One concern on offense is the seven tackles for loss. That is one of the reasons why Ohio vs Penn State betting preview is favoring an easy win for Penn State.
Junior safety Ben Johnson led the safety with 15 tackles.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Things are going to look a little different after five Penn State players were taken in the first four rounds in the 2022 NFL Draft. That hasn’t stopped the Nittany Lions from being the heavy favorites according to the Ohio vs Penn State betting preview.
Replacing linebackers Arnold Ebiketie and Brandon Smith as well as safety Jaquan Brisker will be no easy task.
Cornerback Joey Porter led the Nittany Lions with eight tackles in the season opener.
The running game was stuck in neutral against Purdue, finishing with 98 yards on 32 carries.
Quarterback Sean Clifford threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Mitchell Tinsley, coming off a season with 1,402 receiving yards, led the way with 84 yards on seven carries.
Ohio vs Penn State Injury Update
When looking at the NCAAF injury report, Ohio running back O’Shaan Allison (shoulder) is out for the season.
Penn State tight end Theo Johnson is probable, and receiver Liam Clifford left the season-opening win with a knee injury and is questionable. Defensive end Zuriah Fisher (knee) is out indefinitely.
Ohio vs Penn State Head to Head
Visiting Ohio topped Penn State 24-14 as a six-point underdog on Sept. 1, 2012.
Ohio has dropped its last three games against Big Ten teams and that includes a 35-6 loss at Northwestern on Sept. 25, 2021. The Bobcats have covered five times in the last eight contests against Big Ten foes.
Penn State has won 10 games in a row against Mid-American teams since that loss to Ohio. The most recent meeting was a 44-13 win over Ball State as a 22.5-point favorite on Sept. 11, 2021.
Ohio vs Penn State Betting Preview
Penn State has not fared well in recent seasons when favored by at least 20 points as the Nittany Lions split the last four games under those circumstances.
The last time Penn State was favored by at least 20 points, the result was a 20-18 loss to Illinois as a 24.5-point favorite.
Ohio has covered five of the last six games when heading into the game as a double-digit underdog. The last time Ohio was an underdog by at least 26 points, the result was a 28-19 loss to Tennessee on Sept. 17, 2016, as a 27-point underdog.
The total went under in seven of Ohio’s last 10 games as well as in each of the last five road games.
The total has gone under in six of Penn State’s last eight contests. Another thing of note, according to the Penn State football odds, the Nittany Lions have covered in 12 of its last 18 games.
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