Big Ten: Penn State vs Northwestern 10/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Penn State Nittany Lions and Northwestern Wildcats clash Saturday night in Big Ten week 5 college football action at Beaver Stadium. The Northwestern Wildcats look to snap a 3-game losing streak. The Penn State Nittany Lions look for their third 5-0 start in the last 4 years.

The Northwestern Wildcats haven’t won a road game since November 2020. Ryan Hilinski is completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,194 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Evan Hull and Malik Washington have combined for 616 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Thomas Gordon has 11 receptions. The Northwestern Wildcats ground game is averaging 141 yards per contest, and Hull leads the way with 370 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively, Northwestern is allowing 26.8 points and 390.3 yards per game. Bryce Gallagher leads the Northwestern Wildcats with 38 tackles, Adetomiwa Adebawore has 2 sacks and Xander Mueller has 2 interceptions.

The Penn State Nittany Lions have won 7 of their last 9 home games. Sean Clifford is completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 890 yards, 8 touchdowns and 1 interception. Parker Washington and Brenton Strange have combined for 423 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, while Mitchell Tinsley has 17 receptions. The Penn State Nittany Lions ground game is averaging 185.8 yards per contest, and Nicholas Singleton leads the way with 376 yards and 4 touchdowns. Defensively, Penn State is allowing 16.8 points and 367.8 yards per game. Ji’Ayir Brown leads the Penn State Nittany Lions with 19 tackles, Dani Dennis-Sutton has 3 sacks and Zakee Wheatley has 2 interceptions.

The Wildcats are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 road games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Nittany Lions are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 conference games. The over is 4-1 in Wildcats last 5 road games. The under is 5-1 in Nittany Lions last 6 home games. The Wildcats are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 meetings. The favorite is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 meetings.

The Northwestern Wildcats aren’t a good team on either side of the ball and have no business being in this game. However, Northwestern is a well coached team and competes despite the lack of talent. The Penn State Nittany Lions could blow the doors off here, but they’ve had issues pulling away at times and their passing defense is 109th in the country, which does allow teams to hang around. Also, possible look ahead spot for Penn State with a bye week coming up, as well as Michigan. I’ll take a shot with the points, but I don’t love the game.