What was supposed to be one of the biggest college football betting games of this shortened Big Ten schedule had much of the steam taken out of it by Penn State’s overtime loss at Indiana last weekend. Now, what would ordinarily be a crazed, white-out Halloween night crowd in Happy Valley will instead be a small gathering of family and friends due to the league’s COVID-19 protocols.

None of that bodes well with Ohio State coming to town, fresh off a rout of Nebraska in which the Buckeyes barely broke a sweat. While Penn State’s circumstances aren’t as bad as the Indiana loss might make them seem – they dominated the Hoosiers in yardage and squandered a chance to run out the clock – Ohio State represents a far stiffer challenge.

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Best Ohio State-Penn State Odds & Picks

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Ohio State vs Penn State ATS Pick

Penn State lost last weekend despite allowing just 211 yards of offense, with penalties and red-zone lapses helping the Hoosiers steal the game. But as the competition gets better, the more the Nittany Lions will miss standout linebacker Micah Parsons, who opted out of this season to prepare for the NFL.

And on the heels of starting running back Journey Brown being lost for the season with an injury, news broke Tuesday that his replacement, Noah Cain, is out for the year as well. Those depletions put two freshmen in the backfield mix against the Buckeyes, and place everything on the arm of quarterback Sean Clifford. He's very good, but not good enough to handle this loaded Ohio State squad on his own. Bet Ohio State against the spread with PointsBet.

Ohio State vs Penn State Moneyline Pick

Little value here for bettors, but barring a Penn State diploma hanging in your home office, it’s the logical choice based on what we saw last week. This pandemic-delayed season, with its rushed training camp and league-only schedule, is tough on everyone and exposes any weaknesses, as we witnessed in Penn State’s 10 penalties and three turnovers last week.

Ohio State has a load of talent back, had all of its opt-outs return and is as complete a unit as the Big Ten has, making it better able to hurdle what are stumbling blocks for everyone else. Penn State may turn out fine, but asking it to fix all that went wrong last week, and in the same span prepare for the best team it will play all year, is too much. Find the best odds for the Ohio State moneyline at BetMGM.

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Ohio State vs Penn State Over/Under Betting

With a very small sample size to work off this season, we turn to historical trends: Just once in the past six seasons have the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions combined to score more than the total for Saturday’s game. While both have extremely capable quarterbacks, Penn State’s other skill positions are somewhat depleted and Ohio State’s defense will stand among the best in the country.

With Penn State at full strength and under normal circumstances, this looms as a shootout and a one-score game. But these circumstances are far from normal, the Lions are not at full strength, and all signs point to the Buckeyes winning by two touchdowns and a total somewhere in the high 50s. Get the best price for Ohio State-Penn State totals betting at DraftKings.

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