Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 10/1/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Saturday, October 1, 2022

Location: Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Nittany Lions (-24.5)

Total/Over-Under: 52

Beaver Stadium is the site where the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0) will meet the Northwestern Wildcats (1-3) on Saturday. Penn State is 24.5-point favorites from oddsmakers. The over/under is 52.

The Northwestern Wildcats come into this game with a record of 1-3 for this season. In their last game, the Wildcats faced the Miami RedHawks and took a loss by a score of 17-14. Ryan Hilinski connected on 26/44 with 257 yards through the air. He had a QB rating of 108.2 and finished the game without throwing an interception. Evan Hull led the offense in rushing for the Wildcats with 21 attempts for 62 yds (3.0 yds per carry). For the game, they tallied 75 plays for 364 yards. The Northwestern Wildcats ran the rock 31 different times and accounted for 107 yards, which came out to an average of 3.5 yards per carry. On the ground, the Wildcats gave up 216 yds on 44 attempts, which averages out to 4.9 yards per run surrendered. Northwestern conceded 7 pass completions on 19 tries for a total of 62 yds, and a completion rate of 36.8%.

The Wildcats have earned 1,783 total yards for this campaign. When it comes to scoring touchdowns, Northwestern has earned 5 passing touchdowns and 7 rushing touchdowns. They have surrendered the football 10 times. Northwestern has tallied 95 first downs offensively, and they have been called for 24 infractions for 223 yds. As a team they're averaging 141.0 yards on the ground which has them sitting 88th in the nation. Regarding scoring, the Northwestern Wildcats have an average of 23.0 points per contest.

Regarding passing yards, the Wildcats have allowed 918 yards which puts them in 76th in the country. They have relinquished 229.5 yards per game through the air in addition to allowing a completion percentage of 57.4%. Overall, they are allowing 390.3 yards/contest putting them at 82nd in the nation. They have yielded 6 touchdowns by air as well as 8 touchdowns via the ground game. The opposition is running for an average of 4.4 yards per running attempt and 160.8 rushing yards per contest so far this year. For the year, they have allowed 643 yards on the ground through 4 outings. The Wildcats are sitting in 81st in college football concerning the opposition scoring, conceding 26.8 PPG.

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The Nittany Lions head into this game 4-0 this year. In their last game, the Nittany Lions walked away with a victory by a final of 33-14 against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Sean Clifford (3 touchdowns) finished the game with 217 yards on 22/34 through the air while his quarterback rate was 147.4. He didn't throw any picks and his average yards per pass attempt was 6.4. Kaytron Allen ran the ball 13 times for 111 yards, walking away from the game with 8.5 yards per carry for Penn State. The Nittany Lions ended up finishing with 403 yds while running 71 plays (5.7 yds per play). Penn State rushed for 5.2 yds per attempt, finishing the contest with 166 yds on 32 attempts. Penn State conceded 23 rush attempts for 88 yards (3.8 yards per rush). The Nittany Lions pass defense allowed a completion rate of 55.8%, surrendering 275 yards on 29 for 52 passing.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are averaging 464.5 yards per contest, which has them ranked 33rd in college football. The Penn State offense has 216 yds of penalties on 23 infractions, which ranks 83rd in the country in terms of helping out the other team. For the season thus far, the Nittany Lions currently sit at 1,115 passing yards as well as an average of 278.8 passing yards per game, which has them ranked 36th in the nation. When looking at the points being put on the board, the Nittany Lions sit 29th in the country maintaining an average of 38.8 PPG.

The Nittany Lions are giving up 16.8 points per game, which has them ranked 23rd in the country. Penn State has conceded a total of 367 rushing yards (91.8 yards per outing) and 3 touchdowns via the rush so far this year. Overall, they have surrendered 67 points in total. They have allowed 4 touchdowns through the air as well as 275.0 yards/outing, which has them sitting 112th in D-1. The Nittany Lions defense has been on the field for 296 plays, ranking them 104th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's Wildcats/Nittany Lions college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Wildcats +24.5

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