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Michigan essentially had a bye last week, trouncing FCS school Delaware State 63-6. Penn State looked very impressive on defense last week, holding Minnesota to 138 total yards in a 20-0 win. The Nittany Lions have won three Big Ten games in a row by a combined 107-20 and haven’t allowed a first-half touchdown yet this season – the only team in the country to do that.

But Penn State also has yet to face an offense this season as good as Michigan’s, which leads the Big Ten in scoring and rushing and is second in total offense. The Nittany Lions lead the conference in total offense and total defense. That defense could cause problems for Michigan freshman QBs Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson. But I would caution you, when looking at the football odds for this game, that PSU also has yet to face a team that was ranked at the time and in fact has played one of the country’s worst schedules by a BCS school outside of its loss to now No. 7 Iowa.

There is a key injury for the Nittany Lions to consider when placing your college football bets. Sophomore RB Stephfon Green, a threat to score every time he touches the ball, will miss the game with an ankle injury. The Lions’ No. 2 back has rushed for 248 yards (5.1 per carry) and three TDs this season.

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Joe Paterno's team lost a lot from the 2008 Big Ten champs, including six starters on offense (all three starting receivers) and seven on defense. The Nittany Lions do bring back quarterback Daryll Clark, who threw for 2,592 yards last year (third-best in PSU history) with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions in being named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He also rushed for 10 TDs to set a school record with 29 total touchdowns in a season. Clark will be in the Heisman mix this year. Also back on offense is Evan Royster, who rushed for 1,236 yards last season, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

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So the offense should be OK. But I would argue that Penn State's success or failure will be the result of two linebackers – this is, after all, Linebacker U. Those two linebackers would be Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman.

Lee, a fifth-year senior, sat out last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during an April 2008 practice. He was stellar in 2007, recording 138 tackles, which was second in the Big Ten and fifth all-time in a season at Penn State – that's saying something. Lee was held out of contact drills this spring but is moving well and should be 100 percent by the fall. The All-America candidate is moving from outside linebacker to middle linebacker and is the leader of this unit.

Yet Lee might not be the most talented linebacker on the team. That could be Bowman, who didn't even start until the Lions' fourth game last year. But the junior-to-be managed to finish with team highs in tackles (106) and tackles for loss (16.5) last season. He added an interception, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and six pass deflections. Against Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, as PSU's defense was shredded, Bowman had five tackles for loss, including a sack.

The PSU defense was eighth in the country last year, but the secondary and defensive lines pretty much need to be rebuilt. Thus Lee and Bowman will be the heart and soul of the unit and will need to carry the load early in the season.

The good news for PSU futures bettors – the Lions are 35/1 odds to win the BCS national title at Bodog – is that Penn State's early schedule is a joke. They leave Happy Valley once in the first seven games, and that’s at inconsistent Illinois. If the Nittany Lions can then win at Michigan on Oct. 24, and PSU just snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Wolverines last year, they should be unbeaten when Ohio State visits Beaver Stadium on Nov. 7.

That Buckeyes game could well be for the Big Ten title and a first BCS title game for Paterno.

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Penn State and Illinois are sixth and seventh, respectively, in scoring in the Big Ten, which is well on its way to its seventh consecutive season of being the lowest-scoring major conference in the nation.

A season sweep of the Illini could do wonders for the Nittany Lions’ chances to make the NCAA tourney, and a win combined with another victory Saturday at Iowa could be especially big. If the Nittany Lions win out, they can earn the third seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament.

The Nittany Lions are 10-0 when Talor Battle scores 21 or more and 0-5 when he has 10 or fewer. Seems clear who the Illini need to stop.

The Wolverines are rebuilding quite nicely in their second year under coach John Beilein. His 1-3-1 zone defense, however, is susceptible to the 3-pointer, and that’s Penn State’s strength. The Lions hit 38.7 percent of their trey attempts, led by guards Stanley Pringle (51.4 percent) and Talor Battle (41.2 percent).

Michigan appears to be overvalued at this point after consecutive losses to Illinois (-7 at home) and Ohio State (+5.5 on the road). The Wolverines are also just 0-2-1 ATS on the road this year; the Lions are 3-1-1 ATS at home, including their upset victory over Purdue (-2.5).

Either of these teams would have made a deserving BCS title game opponent. But while Pete Carroll’s Trojans are 10-point favorites (-105) in Pasadena, Paterno’s Lions were rated ahead of USC in the stat-friendly Fremeau Efficiency Index heading into the season finale. PSU was ranked No. 3 in the FBS with the Trojans at No. 5. College Football News also has them ranked very close with USC No. 7 and PSU No. 8.

Live betting is on for this game, which will be shown on ABC starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on New Year’s Day.

After jumping out in the first quarter and taking a 28-7 lead into the half, the Nittany Lions registered 14 in the third quarter. An 11-7 Spartan effort in the forth was enough to seal the final score.

Quarterback Daryll Clark threw for four touchdowns and a whopping 341 yards much to head coach Joe Paterno's pleasure.

At 81 years of age, Paterno has held his job with Penn State for 43 yards.

Michigan State QB Brian Hoyer struggled on the afternoon throwing a pair of interceptions, no touchdowns and just over 200 yards.

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Penn State is a 14.5-point favorite to get their eighth straight home win over Michigan State and punch their ticket to Pasadena. For the Spartans to earn their first trip to Pasadena since 1988 they'd need to win and have Michigan upset Ohio State.

Michigan State will look to Javon Ringer to lead them to the upset victory. The senior tailback is second in the nation with 1,548 rushing yards, and no player has scored more than his 20 touchdowns.

The odds are certainly against the Spartans this week as they have lost 10 straight games against ranked opponents.

With the win, the Lions move to 6-1 in division play and 10-1 overall.

Leading the way for Penn State was quarterback Darryl Clark who threw for two touchdowns in the win while a stellar defence held the Hoosiers scoreless in the second half.

Also in Big Ten action, the No. 11-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes snuck past Illinois 30-20, claiming their sixth win in division play in just seven games.

Still to come in college football are Alabama and SEC opponent Mississippi State, while No. 4-ranked Florida matches up with No. 25-ranked Southern California.

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But has Penn State’s bubble burst with that one loss? The Lions cannot afford any more miscues if they want to go to the Rose Bowl, not even against the Indiana Hoosiers (3-7 SU, 1-7-1 ATS). Penn State will be a massive favorite Saturday; PSU is 10-0 SU and 6-3-1 ATS versus Indiana dating back to 1994, although the Hoosiers (+7) kept things close in last year’s 36-31 loss at home. The Hoosiers have only played two road games this season, dropping both SU and ATS.

Penn State missed going 4-0 ATS by just one point last week versus Illinois. And last year, the Lions beat Purdue 26-19, but as 8-point home faves. Over the past 10 seasons, PSU is 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS against the Boilers. The under is on a 6-0 run.

Purdue is coming off a 38-21 loss at Notre Dame (+2) that saw the Fighting Irish gain 202 yards on the ground. This is not an Irish team known for its running skills, but Penn State’s Evan Royster (7.8 yards per carry) can certainly motor. Get all your NCAA College Football Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook today!