Fiesta Bowl Notes

Fiesta Bowl Notes
December 29, 2017

There was a time in this season when the Penn State Nittany Lions were the third-favorites to win the National Championship. At that point, PSU was ranked No. 2 in the country, and Saquon Barkley was the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

The Nittany Lions were beaten twice in short order thereafter, ending their title dreams while Barkley ultimately didn't even end up being a Heisman finalist.

Still, James Franklin can bag an 11th win for a second straight season if the Nittany Lions can beat the Washington Huskies in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.

Mr. Do-It-All

Barkley didn't deserve the Heisman Trophy this year, but we think he belonged in New York nonetheless.

Barkley busted onto the scheme last year in the Rose Bowl when he rushed for 194 yards and caught five passes for 55 yards, accounting for three touchdowns.

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Barkley had 1,134 rushing yards, 594 receiving yards, 426 return yards and 36 passing yards this year, accounting for 22 total touchdowns.

Washington's Big Play Star is Back

Some team is going to be really lucky to get Dante Pettis next year. He's one of the most explosive special teams players we've ever seen come out of college, and he's a pretty darn good wide receiver, too.

Pettis owns the all-time FBS record for career punt return touchdowns. He's also scored 22 touchdowns as a receiver in the last two seasons.

But Pettis sprained his ankle in the Apple Cup against Washington State, taking him out of the biggest game of the season. The Huskies won the game anyway, but they're going to have a tough time doing so if Pettis isn't playing at full strength.

Sprained ankles could be weird, especially for men who base their game off of their elusiveness and their ability to cut on a dime.

Nittany Lions' ATS Dominance

Penn State went 3-0-1 ATS this year in non-conference games, but that's only the beginning for why it has been one of the best teams to wager on, game in and game out.

The Nittany Lions are 9-2-2 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with winning records and are 16-4-2 ATS in their last 22 games overall.

Even last year in the Rose Bowl, Penn State covered USC in spite of the fact that it lost the dramatic game.

A Fiesta for Favorites

There are some memorable moments of incredible upsets in the Fiesta Bowls of yesteryear. UCF upsetting Baylor in 2014 comes to mind while the most-recognizable game in Fiesta Bowl history was Boise State's victory over Oklahoma.

However, if you go back and look at the recent history of this game, it's been all about favorites. Last year, Clemson was a short favorite in the Fiesta Bowl. The Tigers beat up Ohio State 31-0 in that game, marking the third-straight season the favorite both won and covered the Fiesta Bowl.

This is even better news for Penn State backers.

Fiesta Bowl Game Odds for Saturday, December 30
Washington vs. Penn State (-1.5, 55.5)