The Penn State Nittany Lions are on the road to take on the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans in college football action Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the college football betting odds for the game have Michigan State listed as a solid favorite, the Spartans will be looking for a massive win in this one.
Michigan State comes in ranked fifth in the college football playoff rankings, a win here pits them against No. 4 Iowa in the Big Ten title game. The Spartans will know what they have to do as well as Michigan and Ohio State will play at noon from Ann Arbor. A simple win puts Michigan State in that game, but they are dealing with a scrappy Penn State team in this one.
Connor Cook is expected to play, if you thought he wasn't going to, pay attention to the point spread. An MSU team without Cook on the field against a Penn State team that has a stout front seven and a pretty good overall defense would not hold a double-digit advantage on the point spread. Cook has been banged up, but he still has a chance to lead the Spartans to another spot in the conference title game. A victory would put MSU in its third title game the past five seasons.
Mark Dantonio has certainly made a big impact, the Spartans have won 10 games for a fifth time in six seasons. James Franklin has not had the same type of success, but note that he did coach previously at Vanderbilt and he is a relatively young head coach as well.
Cal Nassib will look to cause Michigan State problems — he leads the country with 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles this year. Nassib and Penn State's defense have to play a major impact on the field, giving the offense some type of chance.
Christian Hackenberg could have a big game, too. The Spartans aren't the same in the secondary as they have been in the past, ranking 68th in the country in yards allowed through the air. It's going to be tough for Penn State to win, but they are going to keep this one close.
Free Pick: Penn State and the points
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