Week 8 picks: Early rivalry games provide plenty of opportunity
Back to .500 we go, with plenty of time to create some separation in the second half
A 1-2 week brought us back to .500. But we’ve got a whole second half of the season to get back out in front, so let’s get right to it.
Penn State +5.5 at Ohio State (FanDuel). The Nittany Lions were our only win last week, so we’ve got to keep riding them, right? OK, maybe that’s not sound enough reasoning. But this team has covered 13 straight games dating back to last year. It has the nation’s top defense in both yards and yards per play against, and it leads the nation in sacks. This is James Franklin’s most talented team top-to-bottom, and if not for recent history between these two programs, we’d all probably be talking about Penn State much more favorably here. The Lions match up well with the Buckeyes, who are as gettable as they have been in the Meyer-Day eras. This game will resemble a Tressel-ball classic, which means it will be close. Take PSU to cover.