Week 2 of the 2012 College Football season continues on Saturday and we will see the Penn State Nitany Lions travel to Charlottesville, Virgina to take on the Virginia Cavaliers. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 PM (Eastern) start time and it will be televised live on ABC. Currently the odds for the game have Virginia favored by 10 points for the game, while the total sits at 46. Currently 63% of the Public is on Virginia, while 67% is on the Over. Find out what side the Public is taking on all the games by clicking HERE.
Free Analysis: Bill O'Brien's career at Penn State began in difficult fashion. The Nittany Lions, despite overwhelming support from fans who came out to back the players that stayed with the program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, blew an 11-point halftime lead and fell to Ohio 24-14 in O'Brien's first game as coach. This is the first time the Lions have started 0-1 since 2001. Behind O'Brien's NFL-style offense, the Nittany Lions moved the ball well at times in the first half against Ohio, but were no match after halftime when they were outgained 301-115. Quarterback Matt McGloin completed 28 of 47 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. The 28 completions are a career high and the 260 yards represent McGloin's highest total since Nov. 27, 2010, against Michigan State. PSU's defense held Ohio to just three points in the opening half, but it could not stop Bobcats' QB Tyler Tettleton in the final two quarters. Tettleton finished sixth in the nation in week one with 371 yards of total offense, while Beau Blankenship tacked on 109 rushing yards on the Nitany Lions. In their opener, linebacker Michael Mauti led PSU with 12 stops, Gerald Hodges recorded 11 tackles, and sophomore cornerback Adrian Amos had a career-best 10.
Virginia kicked off its season with a 43-19 rout of instate rival Richmond at home. The victory over his former employer made head coach Mike London's record with the UVa an even 13-13 and improved his record in season openers to 5-0 for his career. Quarterback Michael Rocco threw for 311 yards and a touchdown in the rout of Richmond. Phillip Sims, a highly regarded transfer from Alabama, also got into the act by completing 5 of 6 passes on the Cavaliers' final drive. Virginia amassed 545 total yards, only the fourth time since 2005 that they have surpassed the 500-yard mark. Virginia's Michael Rocco nearly went to Penn State, where his father Frank was the starting quarterback on the 1982 National Championship team and both of his uncles played. UVa's defense stifled its FCS opponent in week one, allowing the Spiders to gain just 28 rushing yards and 266 total yards. Virginia was a better than average at stopping its opponents in 2011, ranking 46th nationally in scoring defense (23.9) and 40th in total defense (351.7).
This will be the seventh encounter between PSU and Virginia. The Nittany Lions hold a 4-2 lead in the all-time series after their dominant, 35-14, victory over the Cavaliers in 2002 in Happy Valley.
Free Pick: I will go with the Under in this one. Penn State Came out in their opening game and had a solid first half of offense, but once the emotions ran off they really struggled in the second half. This is not a very good offense and they will struggle to score all year. Virginia does have back just 5 starters on defense, but they have 3 of their top 4 tacklers back and a solid crop of newcomers should have them playing very good defense this year. PSU did allow 21 points to Ohio in the 2nd half last week, but I look for them to have a better showing this time around vs a Virginia offenmse that is not all that explosive. PSU will have to rely on their defense to win game as the offense won't score much and that should lead to a lot of low scoring games for them. This will be one of them.
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CFB Free Picks: Penn St at Virginia Betting
What Football bettors need to know about Penn St at Virginia on Saturday (9/08/12) - with Pregame.com's Vegas Runner, Marco D'Angelo, Scott Spreitzer and host RJ Bell.