- The Penn State Nittany Lions have +110 odds to go OVER 9.0 wins this season.
- Penn State has the second-shortest odds to win the Big Ten East at +600.
- PSU is in the top 25 of teams' odds to win the National Championship and the third in the Big Ten.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lions started off the 2020 season with an 0-5 record but went on to win four straight games to end their chaotic year run. As PSU starts off the 2021-2022 season at No. 19 in the AP Poll, the team is expected to return to a moderate level of success.
Penn State’s Season Win Total
The Penn State Nittany Lions entered the 2020 campaign on a four-year stretch in which they won at least nine games, hitting 11 wins in three of the seasons. Coming off of the first sub .500 seasons since 2004, the Nittany Lions are expected to have another solid season as they're historically known to do.
Penn State Nittany Lions 2021/22 Total Wins
- OVER 9.0 +110
- UNDER 9.0 -145
Looking at Penn State’s schedule, the toughest games are likely to be Wisconsin in Week 1, Auburn in Week 3, Iowa in Week 6, and Ohio State in Week 9. Even if PSU was to lose three of those four games, the team could still hit nine wins.
Online gambling sites may be underestimating the team’s ability to steal a win over Wisconsin, Auburn, or Iowa.
If the odds looked a little different, it may be a stay-away kind of pick. However, the +110 odds are too enticing to not take a shot on when gambling on college football.
Can Penn State Compete For The Big Ten Title?
Penn State won the Big Ten in 2016 but hasn’t been back to the Championship Game since. One thing that PSU has going for them is that they are returning a bunch of key players to their roster including Sean Clifford at quarterback, and both Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington at WR.
However, the strength of the Nittany Lions team is in the backfield.
Noah Cain, Devyn Ford, Caziah Holmes, and Keyvone Lee have all proven to be solid options at RB, but adding John Lovett as a transfer from Baylor just further solidifies the position. As the coaches say, it’s a good problem to have what could be considered too much talent.
With that said, Ohio State is still Ohio State and even with a quarterback change, the talent on rosters do not quite compare. There’s a reason why the Buckeyes are overwhelming favorites on sports betting sites.
BIG Ten East Division Odds
- Ohio State -500
- Penn State +600
- Indiana +900
- Michigan +1500
- Maryland +5500
- Michigan State +5500
Is PSU A Viable Longshot For A National Title?
The Nittany Lions have been in the top 10 of the AP Poll at some point in each of the last five seasons and have gotten as high as No. 2 in 2017. However, the team has never made the CFP despite arguably being robbed in 2016.
A Big Ten team has made the playoff in four of the past six seasons, but at this point, it seems as if Ohio State is a near-lock to be the conference’s representative. PSU would need to beat OSU, win the conference, and have an 11-1 record to qualify for the playoff.
The odds listed do not seem to be in their favor this season.
2021-2022 NCAA National Championship Odds
- Ohio State +600
- Wisconsin +5000
- Penn State +5500