Latest College Football Lines – Penn State Tries To Get Healthy Against Reeling Gophers

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have already fired their coach. Yet, the Penn State Nittany Lions aren’t faring much better than Minnesota. Two struggling teams meet this weekend as we preview the latest college football betting lines.

Penn State Nittany Lions @ Minnesota Golden Gophers 

Saturday, October 23rd – 12:00 PM ET

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TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis 

Broadcast: ESPNU 

Latest College Football Lines: Penn State -9.5, Minnesota +9.5 

Total: 49.5

In one of the least surprising developments of the 2010 season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers fired coach Tim Brewster after losing decisively (28-17) at lowly Purdue this past weekend. Brewster was never able to lift the Minnesota program beyond its longstanding identity as a middle-of-the-road team, and with the Golden Gophers plummeting to a 1-6 record this season, including losses to an FCS team (South Dakota) and a Mid-American Conference club (Northern Illinois), U of M Athletic Director Joel Maturi had enough. Minnesota will just try to muddle through the rest of its 2010 campaign, using whatever emotion it can muster in order to play with passion on each and every Saturday. 

The reality isn’t much better at Penn State, as hard as that might seem to believe. The Nittany Lions are coming off a two-game losing streak and are buried at 0-2 in the Big Ten. Coach Joe Paterno simply has inexperience at key positions, especially on his offensive line.

Latest College Football Lines: What Penn State Has To Do To Win

The Nittany Lions need to score, and by score, one means “score touchdowns in the red zone.” It’s mind-boggling but entirely true that PSU has scored only one touchdown against BCS conference opponents this year. The Nittany Lions lost 24-3 to both Alabama and Iowa, and they scored just 13 points against Illinois on Oct. 9, with the one touchdown being an 80-yard scoring pass by quarterback Robert Bolden. Coming off a bye week, the Penn State offense needs to show new signs of life. Coordinator Galen Hall needs to see his offense thrive against Minnesota’s porous defense. In particular, PSU running back Evan Royster – suffering through a miserable season after loads of offseason hype – must perform with distinction and determination this weekend in Minneapolis.

Latest College Football Lines: What Minnesota Has To Do To Win

Precisely because Penn State’s offense is so anemic, the Golden Gophers need to do a few things if they want to have a good chance of winning. First, they have to stand tall in the red zone and continue Penn State’s trend of bogging down in scoring range. If the Gophers force three or four more field goals and don’t allow more than one touchdown, they’ll keep PSU under 20 points and give themselves a legitimate shot at an upset victory. The Gophers must also avoid the kinds of mistakes on offense or special teams that can gift-wrap easy scores for Penn State. If Minnesota can tend to those kinds of details, this game could remain close.

Latest College Football Lines: Outlook & Pick 

After a bye week, Penn State will have too much anger and too much power for Minnesota. The Nittany Lions will play their best game of the season and easily cover the number in Minneapolis. 

Latest College Football Lines Pick: Penn State -9.5

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