First Look at Penn State Vs. Bowling Green : How to Watch, Stream, Betting Line

The Nittany Lions host Bowling Green in their home opener after a big win over West Virginia.

Penn State coach James Franklin celebrates with fans after the Nittany Lions defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field. / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State begins a long stretch of home games Saturday, when Bowling Green visits for the first game at Beaver Stadium of 2024. And after a big win over West Virginia last weekend, the Nittany Lions face a new challenge: how to keep the momentum going with a less demanding schedule.

Here's the first look at Penn State vs. Bowling Green.

Penn State (1-0) vs. Bowling Green (1-0)

• When: Noon ET Saturday

• Where: Beaver Stadium

• TV: Big Ten Network

• Streaming: B1G+

• Betting line: Penn State is a 31.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel

• Series history: Penn State leads 2-0

• Last meeting: Penn State 48-3 in 1998

RELATED: Recapping Penn State's 34-12 win over West Virginia

About the Nittany Lions: After disarming West Virginia on the road rather completely Saturday, Penn State will play its next four games at home. The Nittany Lions also effectively are headed back to training camp. The team will face two MAC teams over the next three weeks, with a bye in the middle for an even bigger break. Coach James Franklin isn't thrilled with the schedule's layout, since it asks his team to press pause following an exacting, satisfying victory. It's likely that quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and several defensive standouts won't play in the fourth quarter until Sept. 28 and the Big Ten opener against Illinois. Who knows if it even happens then?

Why the funky schedule? This is a two-bye season, formed by the extra week between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Penn State last played a two-bye schedule in 2019. That year, the Nittany Lions were 8-0 exiting their second bye and fell at Minnesota, the second of consecutive road games. This year, Penn State also has its second bye scheduled between road games (at USC and Wiconsin). We'll see if the team maneuvers the double-bye any better.

RELATED: Penn State revels in Andy Kotelnicki's "super creative" offense at West Virginia

About the Falcons: Bowling Green improved three spots, to No. 100, in ESPN's Football Power Index after a season-opening 41-17 win over Fordham (Joe Moorhead's old team). The team began the season spectacularly, as Justin Pegues, a Tennessee Tech transfer, returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Running back Terion Stewart rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns and is the team's player to watch. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry in his first three seasons at Bowling Green and, according to the program, led the nation in broken tackles last season (78) before getting hurt.

Bowling Green's quarterback is a familiar name in college football. Connor Bazelak is at his third school following tours at Missouri and Indiana. He played in 10 games for the Hoosiers in 2022, averaging an astonishing 42.6 passing attempts per game, and is in his second season as the Falcons' starting quarterback. Scot Loeffler is in his sixth season as Bowling Green's head coach. He had his first winning season, going 7-6, last year.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.