Penn State's 2021 Betting Odds Are Live

Ready to put some money on the Nittany Lions? A few early lines are promising.

Penn State's 2021 betting lines are trickling in, with DraftKings setting the odds for 11 of the Lions' 12 games (no Rutgers yet).

A few observations:

  • Penn State is favored in all six home games listed, including by more than a touchdown against Auburn and Michigan (7.5 each).
  • Penn State is the underdog in three road games at Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio State.
  • Penn State is a double-digit favorite against four opponents (Ball State, Villanova, Illinois and Michigan State).
  • Penn State is a double-digit underdog against one opponent (you can guess which).

Here are the 11 available lines, courtesy of DraftKings.

Sept. 4: Penn State (-3.5) at Wisconsin.

Sept. 11: Ball State at Penn State (-20.5).

Sept. 18: Auburn at Penn State (-7.5).

Sept. 25: Villanova at Penn State (-29).

Oct. 2: Indiana at Penn State (-6.5).

Oct. 9: Penn State (+3.5) at Iowa.

Oct. 23: Illinois at Penn State (-20.5).

Oct. 30: Penn State (+10.5) at Ohio State.

Nov. 6: Penn State (-9.5) at Maryland.

Nov. 13: Michigan at Penn State (-7.5).

Nov. 20: Rutgers at Penn State (no line available)

Nov. 27: Michigan State at Penn State (-14.5).

Among early lines, two stand out. Penn State is a surprisingly huge favorite against Ball State, which went 7-1 and defeated Buffalo in the MAC championship game. Ball State returns 18 starters (including 2,100-yard passer Drew Plitt) from a team that finished 23rd in the final AP Poll and defeated San Jose State in its bowl game.

In addition, Penn State is a comfortable favorite over Auburn, which is visiting Beaver Stadium for the first time. The Tigers will make the trip with new coach Bryan Harsin, who replaced the fired Gus Malzahn after a 6-4 season. The Auburn game completes a difficult opening three-game stretch.

Penn State finished 4-5 against the spread last season, according to the Teamrankings website, which follows its record neatly. The most surprising result of the year was the 35-19 loss to Maryland, against which Penn State was a 27.5-point favorite.

The Lions' odds are 17/2 to win the Big Ten title, according to Betonline.ag, tied with Michigan. Ohio State, of course, is the favorite at 2/3.

Read more

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The defense's offseason keyword: Accountability


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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.