Pitt at (13) Penn State

Time: 11 AM CST, Saturday

Spread: PSU -17

Total: 54

Odds c/o 5dimes

Penn State has started it season 2-0 with easy wins over Idaho and Buffalo. Pittsburgh probably will not challenge it too closely either here in Week 3. PSU is 17-point favorites over Pitt in Week 3 play, with the over/under set at 54 points according to NCAA football oddsmakers at 5dimes. The Game will air at 11 AM CST Saturday on ABC.

PSU

Penn State really had no issues in knocking off the Buffalo Bulls last week. Sean Clifford was nearly flawless with his 16 of 22 marksmanship and he averaged 12.7 yards-per-reception while throwing four touchdowns (without any picks). Clifford also led the team in rushing yardage with 51 yards on his team-high 11 carries.

The rest of the PSU backfield gave him little help, amassing just 27 yards (though Noah Cain did rush his single carry 2-yards for a TD). Clifford did most of his passing damage with just three receivers. Jahan Dotson had four catches for 109 yards and two TDs, Pat Freiermuth had 99 yards on eight catches and a pair of TDs, as well. KJ Hamler rounded out the effort with three catches for 62 yards, including a 45-yard reception which was the second-longest behind Dotson’s 56-yard catch.

Clifford had 280 passing yards in Week 1 against Idaho, and Will Levis got some snaps in as backup due to the blowout nature of the game.

Lead Running back Devyn Ford had 107 rushing yards in Week 1, though he carried just once against Buffalo. He is listed active for week 3, and the Nittany Lions will need a 100-plus yard performance from him again with Clifford being the only other viable carrier thus far on the roster.

PITT

The Pittsburgh Panthers are 1-1 after rebounding from its week 1 loss to Virginia. Week 2 saw the Panthers defeat Ohio 20-10 as Kenny Pickett set a career-high with 321 passing yards, including a 74-yard look to Maurice Ffrench. Pickett there 26 of 37 with a touchdown, and no interceptions. AJ and Vincent Davis ran for 89 and 50 yards, respectively, though Vincent scored the only Pitt rushing TD. Pittsburgh averaged a respectable 4.3 yards-per-carry.

Meanwhile, it held Ohio to just 1.2 yards-per-rush and it limited Nathan Rourke to 177 yards passing while Ohio failed to score any receiving touchdowns. In fact, Ohio’s top back O’Shaan Allison actually did not fare too well, with just 3.4-yards-per -carry, so the Pitt rush defense could be even better than expected this year. Rourke lost 43 yards on his nine attempts and had only one decent one in the mix (a 5-yard rush, at that). If Pitt can apply that same defensive pressure against Penn State, this could be much closer than the 17-point spread, but a SU upset is, naturally, still rather unlikely.

ATS TRENDS (C/o Covers):

OU TRENDS (C/o Covers):

HEAD TO HEAD