College football odds: Ohio State heavy road favorite vs. Penn State

Ohio State hits the road for the second straight week after its narrow win over Wisconsin. Can underdog Penn State upset the mighty Buckeyes?

The Ohio State Buckeyes are a perfect 20–0 straight up and 13–7 against the spread in 20 road games under head coach Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes will be heavy favorites to pick up another road win this Saturday against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Ohio State is a 19.5-point road favorite at State College at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This will be the ninth straight game that the Buckeyes are going off as a road favorite, and the team has gone 4–1 ATS in its last five road games.

Unlike their road test against Oklahoma in which the Buckeyes cruised to a 45–24 win, Ohio State got a real test last Saturday at Wisconsin. Down 16–6 against one of the best defensive teams in the nation at halftime, J.T. Barrett and the Buckeyes roared back in the second half to force overtime and eventually win the game 30–24.

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Ohio State failed to cover the spread for the second straight game, but is still 8–0 SU and 6–2 ATS over its last eight games.

The Buckeyes are 6–1 SU and 5–2 ATS in their last seven games against Penn State per the OddsShark College Football Database. Ohio State has won each of its last four games against Penn State with an average margin of victory of 24 points per game.

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Penn State ended 2015 on a low note with an 0–4 SU and ATS skid, but has bounced back nicely with a 4–2 SU and 2–3–1 ATS record in 2016. The Nittany Lions have won all four of their homes games this season, improving to 10–1 SU and 5–5–1 ATS in their last 11 home games overall.

In 12 games as a home underdog since 2006, Penn State is 3–9 SU and 4–7–1 ATS.

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The total for Saturday’s game is set at 58.5 points. The OVER is 3–1 in the last four meetings between these two teams.

While Ohio State is clearly the more talented team, Penn State should be a lot more well rested. The Nittany Lions are playing a third straight game at home and coming off a bye week, while Ohio State is playing a second straight road game after a tough overtime game last Saturday.