Betting: Early Penn State-Wisconsin Spread is In

Originally posted on Nittany Sports Now | By Joe Smeltzer | Last updated Oct 20, 2024 12:36 PM ET

The early spread is in for Penn State football’s next game, which is scheduled for this coming Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 on NBC against Wisconsin.

Considering Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the country and Wisconsin is out of the top 25, most expected the odds to favor Penn State.

That is indeed the case.

Per DraftKings Sportsbook, the odds have Penn State is an 8.5 point favorite over Wisconsin, the seventh time in seven games it will come in as the team that’s supposed to win.

Penn State has done what its supposed to do through six games, winning all of them and staying alive and well in the Big Ten championship race.

STRUGGLES IN VEGAS

Photo by Jordan Leneberg, Nittany Sports Now: Drew Allar

There’s a saying that “good teams win, while great teams cover.” There’s some validity to this— Penn State’s 1994 national title case was famously hurt by not beating mediocre Indiana by enough— but for the most part, it’s pretty silly. Case in point, this year’s Penn State team. PSU is No. 3 despite being 2-4 against the spread so far. This includes beating Bowling Green by seven as a 34.5-point favorite, a win that not too many Penn State fans were satisfied with. Last season, Penn State finished the regular season 9-3 against the spread, so this season has already been worse through half the games going into Wisconsin.

WISCONSIN IS ON A VEGAS HOT STREAK

MADISON, WI – OCTOBER 05: Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Kevin Heywood (55) helps to keep Wisconsin Badgers running back Cade Yacamelli (25) up on his touchdown run durning a college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Wisconsin Badgers on October 5th, 2024 at Barry Alvarez field inside Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire)

Wisconsin started the season 0-4 against the spread (2-2 overall) but lately has been winning in both the record books and sports books. Wisconsin has won its last three games by a combined 101 points. Although Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern aren’t at the level of Penn State, its hard to argue Wisconsin isn’t starting to hit its stride, and beating the spread reflects that.

Although Penn State is coming off a much-needed bye week, teams tend to struggle after big wins, which Penn State’s 33-30 overtime triumph at USC was. We’ll see how Penn State responds.

This article first appeared on Nittany Sports Now and was syndicated with permission.

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