College Football Insider – Penn State Betting Preview for 2009

Last year, the Penn State Nittany Lions had one of their best seasons since joining the Big Ten as they made it to the Rose Bowl while winning the Big Ten championship.

Unfortunately, the loss to Iowa kept Joe Paterno’s team out of the BCS Title Game in a year when Penn State had all the momentum in the world.

To make matters worse, they followed up their remarkable regular season by getting thrashed by USC in the Rose Bowl, ending the season on a sour note.

This year, the Nittany Lions have a goal of getting back to the Rose Bowl, either for the 2010 BCS Title Game or the Rose Bowl itself, and they have as good of a chance as any team in the Big Ten to make it happen.

BetOnline has the Nittany Lions (+200) listed as the second-biggest favorite to win the conference behind Ohio State (+150).

Penn State will go to battle this year behind their senior QB Daryll Clark, who had an excellent 19 to 6 TD/INT ratio last season and has matured into a leader on par with former revered PSU QB Michael Robinson. Clark is a physical runner and an accurate passer who doesn’t try to do too much, and that should make him a great fit for PSU since they also boast a fantastic defense.

The strength of the defense is the linebacking corps as All-Big Ten caliber LB Sean Lee returns along with Navarro Bowman to form the best duo in the conference this year.

Penn State also should be able to run the ball well with Evan Royster and a solid offensive line. Royster might make first-team All-Big Ten this year.

This year’s non-conference schedule is a joke, and Penn State gets some help in Big Ten play with Ohio State coming to Happy Valley for a game that should decide the conference. PSU is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 at home vs. the Buckeyes which bodes well for a potential win as PSU seems to match up well.

Taking that into account, the prediction here is that PSU takes home another Big Ten title in what should be a dogfight all year.

Penn State is also +2500 in the Sportsbook to win the BCS Championship but this team doesn’t quite have the out-of-this-world potential that would lead smart ncaa football bettors to believe they had a good chance of making a BCS Title run. That’s a bet I would stay away from, but the Big Ten Title is another strong possibility in 2009, that’s for sure.

Expect 10 wins from the Nittany Lions as Joe Paterno continues to defy father time.