Will the Penn State Nittany Lions be able to build on their statement victory over Navy? They host Temple as considerable favorites on the college football odds board, but should bettors be eager to add them to their picks on Saturday?
First, let's get the formalities out of the way.
Kickoff will be at 3:30 PM EST at Beaver Stadium and the
game will be nationally televised on ABC.
Defense should be the name of the game this Saturday, and
that explains the low total of 42 points being posted by the college football odds makers.
On the ATS side of things, the Nittany Lions are the
favorites as they're giving away as many as nine points to Temple for this one.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Finally some positivity to come out of the Penn State camp.
Through all the dark times, the Nittany Lions have shown
character and they were finally rewarded ffor their efforts last weekend.
After two frustrating losses in a row – the first a 24-14
defeat at home to Ohio and the second a heart-breaking one-point loss to
Virginia on the road – Penn State rebounded by pouncing Navy 34-7 at home.
Much of the credit goes to Matt McGloin, who was 13-of-21
for 231 yards and four touchdowns. He didn't throw an interception and was
rolling from the start, throwing two TD passes in the first quarter.
Three of those were to Allen Robinson. He made the most of
his five receptions, logging 136 total yards, including a long of 45 yards.
Robinson, a 6'3” sophomore, will be the go-to guy again this weekend against
the Owls.
Temple Owls
Seven days after smashing 18.5-point chalk in a 41-10
beatdown of Villanova, the Owls fell just a little bit short of another ATS
success. They lost 36-27 as eight-point pups.
That loss was certainly a tale of two halves.
The Owls were down 26-3 at one point after giving up three
touchdowns and a safety in the second quarter alone. However, they turned up
the heat in the second half, pulling the game to as close as 29-27 in the third
quarter.
With Matt Brown struggling to get going, Chris Coyer took
over. He had two touchdown passes, one to Jalen Fitzpatrick and the other to
C.J. Hammond, and also recorded 53 rushing yards on 17 attempts.
We know how Temple likes to operate. They're a run-first
team and there's no debating it's worked at times under Steve Addazio, but this
weekend they clash with the very talented front seven of the Nittany Lions.
Something's got to give.
College Football Pick
Last season's meeting was a defensive fight which ended in a
Penn State 14-10 victory. The Owls covered as seven-point underdogs and the
UNDER (46) easily hit.
Let's hope the good times continue for Bill O'Brien's team
after such a resounding win last weekend. I'm thinking they will and therefore
will be adding the Nittany Lions to my college football picks. Every game is
vital for this program, especially those at home in front of the faithful,
good-willed fans.
McGloin and Robinson meanwhile have emerged as one of the
most dangerous quarterback-wide receiver tandems in the country – well....maybe
just in the Big Ten – and Penn State's
defense has forced four turnovers in two consecutive games.
Things are definitely starting to come together for the
much-talked about program. Back the Nittany Lions this weekend.
College Football Pick: Penn State Nittany Lions -8.5