Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Odds, Football Pick

Ohio State owns three straight victories over rival Penn State, seven wins in the last nine meetings between the teams and a 6-3 record against the spread over that same span. The unbeaten Buckeyes shoot for a fourth straight win over the Nittany Lions Saturday night at the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Point spread: The Buckeyes opened as 17.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 40.9-18.4 Buckeyes

Why the Penn State Nittany Lions can cover the spread

The Lions are off to a 5-1 start to this season after beating Indiana last week 29-7 and easily covering as four-point home favorites. That game was tied at 7-7 after one quarter, but Penn State scored the last 22 points of the game. The Lions outgained the Hoosiers 420 yards to 234, outrushed them 154-79 and held the ball for almost 36 minutes, although it should be noted Indiana was without its starting quarterback.

Penn State opened this season with an upset versus Temple but buried the game tape and responded by winning its next five games. With good performances by quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who has thrown just two interceptions this season after tossing 15 last season, and the defense, which has limited its last five foes to 12 points per game, the Lions could make some real noise this week.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes can cover the spread

Ohio State isn't playing up to preseason expectations, but that's only because those expectations were so sky-high. The defending national champs are 6-0 this season after dispatching Maryland last week 49-28, although they couldn't quite cover as 31-point favorites.

The Buckeyes spotted the Terrapins the first touchdown of the game, then scored the next three. When Maryland tied the game early in the third quarter, Ohio State responded by scoring the next 28 points.

Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones, who has caught some flak recently, came up with his best performance of the year last week, throwing for 291 yards with two scores and no picks, while running back Ezekiel Elliott produced his 11th straight 100-yard rushing performance.

Ohio State hasn't really clicked yet this season; when it does, it's going to embarrass somebody.

Smart pick

Buckeyes financial backers are suffering this season because their team is favored by so much so often. While undefeated, Ohio State is also just 1-5 ATS. So while OSU will likely win this game, the smart play here is Penn State, plus the points.

Betting trends

Ohio State is 7-2 straight up and ATS in its nine games at home against Penn State.

The total has gone over in five of Penn State's last six games.

Penn State is 0-4 ATS in its last four conference games on the road.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, and all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.