Penn State 2011 Season Odds
(The Spread) – Joe Paterno isn’t slowing down despite coaching Penn State for 45 seasons. Can the legend find a way to win a national championship this season?
Paterno has 401 career wins after going 7-6 in 2010 with a freshman quarterback at the helm all season. This year, the Nittany Lions return a total of 15 starters, including the quarterback, who is now an experienced sophomore.
According to oddsmakers Penn State has 30/1 odds to win the 2012 BCS National Championship and 7/1 odds to win the Big Ten Championship. The Nittany Lions also have 7/4 odds to win the Big Ten Leaders Division and oddsmakers have given them over/under odds of 7.5 wins for the season.
View Current College Football Futures Odds
Paterno has led Penn State to the national title in 1982 and 1986. The Nittany Lions own three Big Ten titles, the last of which came in 2008. This season, to win, Penn State will need quarterback Rob Bolden to improve on his 1,360 yards passing and five touchdowns with seven interceptions. There was talk of Bolden transferring to another school in the offseason, but he is staying put and could be a promising quarterback. Matt McGloin, a junior, will be competing for the job as well after throwing for 1,548 yards and 14 scores last season. On defense, Penn State has all of its secondary back, and will start all juniors and seniors.
Paterno has won at least eight games in five of the last six seasons for Penn State. This season, he has a tough non-conference game at home against Alabama and will then have road trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin in conference play to end the regular season.
In 2010, Penn State was 5-8 against the spread, which included a 3-6 mark in games played on grass. The Nittany Lions have failed to have a winning record against the spread in four of the last five seasons. In terms of the over/under, Penn State hit the over in 8 of 13 lined games, including three of the four games it played on turf.
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!