Northwestern at Penn State - 10/1/22 College Football Picks and Prediction

Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0) vs Northwestern Wildcats (1-3)

Game Info: Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 3:30 pm (Beaver Stadium)

Betting Odds: Penn State Nittany Lions -25 -- Over/Under: 51 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Northwestern Wildcats and Penn State Nittany Lions face off on Saturday in a Week 5 college football showdown at Beaver Stadium. When these two teams faced off in 2017 it was Penn State that secured the 31-7 victory.

Penn State comes into this game with a 4-0 record and this is a team that feels like they can win the Big Ten title. In the last game against Central Michigan, Penn State struggled a bit in the second quarter but they were still able to secure the 33-14 victory. Under center for Penn State is Sean Clifford and he completed 22 of his 34 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Kaytron Allen also finished with 13 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. Penn State is averaging 38.7 points while their defense is giving up 16.8 points per game. The offense is ranked 29th while the defense is ranked 23rd.

On the other side of this matchup is Northwestern who sits with a 1-3 record. Northwestern opened up their season with a victory over Nebraska, but since that point, they have lost to Southern Illinois, Duke, and Miami of Ohio. In the last game against the Redhawks, Northwestern only scored 14 points and they lost by three points. Under center for Northwestern is Ryan Hilisinki and in the last game, he completed 24 of his 42 passes for 232 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Northwestern is averaging 23 points while their defense is giving up 26.8 points.

Northwestern is 1-6 against the spread in their last seven games. Penn State is 10-4 against the spread in their last 14 conference games. Northwestern is 2-6 against the spread in their last eight meetings against Penn State.

Northwestern has struggled to move the ball this season, and I expect they are going to struggle again in this game. Penn State’s defense is giving up only 16.8 points per game, and Northwestern is going to have issues getting to even 10 points here. Look for Clifford to have a strong game, and that is going to be the difference as Penn State is going to get the job done. Back Penn State against the spread.