It’s official, folks. Our first college football Saturday is finally upon us. We have a massive slate of games to dive into for what should be an incredible day from start to finish.
For this article, we will be focusing on the No. 8 team in the nation in Penn State, which begins its season with a road game against the West Virginia in Morgantown.
PSU-WVU kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on FOX.
Penn State vs. West Virginia Betting Odds
Below are the odds for Saturday’s game in the three main markets: spread, moneyline and total.
| FanDuel | DraftKings | Caesars | |
| PSU Spread | -8.5 (-105) | -7.5 (-115) | -8 (-110) |
| WVU Spread | +8.5 (-115) | +7.5 (-105) | +8 (-110) |
| PSU ML | -320 | -310 | -320 |
| WVU ML | +255 | +250 | +250 |
| Total | 51.5 (o-110;u-110) | 51.5 (o-108;u-112) | 51.5 (o-110;u-110) |
The interesting part of line shopping is we see three different spreads for this game, with Penn State ranging from -7.5 (FanDuel) to -8.5 (DraftKings).
$250 BONUS BETS
DRAFTKINGS SPORTSBOOK
$1,000 FIRST BET RESET (MUST USE CODE NEWSWEEK)
ESPN BET
UP TO $1,000 BONUS BETS
FANATICS SPORTSBOOK
$1,500 FIRST-BET OFFER
BETMGM
$200 BONUS OR $1,000 FIRST-BET SAFETY NET
BET365
$1,000 FIRST BET
CAESARS SPORTSBOOK
$200 BONUS BETS
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK
For those who think that Penn State is on upset alert, you can get a nice price on West Virginia at +255 odds, but those Penn State backers are going to want to stay away from the Nittany Lions’ moneyline price.
We did see this matchup last year, when WVU traveled to Happy Valley and got trounced 38-15.
The Mountaineers are hoping for a better result this year, and we break down their chances in our Penn State vs. West Virginia betting preview below.
How to Bet Penn State State vs. West Virginia
Despite being the eighth-ranked team in the nation, the Nittany Lions have some unknowns with their coaching staff as they have two new coordinators. Manny Diaz was the Penn State defensive coordinator last year, but in the offseason he took over as the head coach of Duke. On offense, Penn State made a major splash last December, bringing over Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas.
Kotelnicki comes to Happy Valley very highly rated for what he was able to do at Buffalo and with the Jayhawks prior to Penn State. There is also excitement around the Penn State defense, which is expected to be among the best in the nation under new DC Tom Allen, formerly of Indiana.
Of course, James Franklin is still the head coach of Penn State, and he is heading into his 10th season at this position. At quarterback, Penn State has junior Drew Allar heading into his second year as the starting QB of Penn State.
Allar has legit NFL hopes, and he will be hard for the WVU defense to stop. He threw for 25 touchdowns to only two interceptions last year, and keep in mind he was just a sophomore. WVU does not really have the pass rush to influence Allar in the pocket, and he also has good weapons at his disposal in running back Nicholas Singleton and tight end Tyler Warren.
Singleton had a good year as a sophomore last year and figures to have a massive role this year.
Warren also has NFL potential and, like Pat Freiermuth (a second-round pick in 2021) and Mike Gesicki (a second-rounder in ’18) before him, he is another classic size/athletic freak at TE that we have seen come out of Penn State. PSU does have questions at wide receiver, but for a game against a weaker defense such as West Virginia, they should be able to put up plenty of points.
West Virginia does have the benefit of continuity, as they return their head coach and QB from last year in Neal Brown at HC and Garrett Greene at QB. Greene, now a senior, had a decent year last year with 16 touchdowns to four interceptions while also adding 772 rushing yards.
With that said, this Penn State defense is loaded, headlined by top pass rusher Abdul Carter. Carter is a potential NFL superstar and is a “game-wrecker” that WVU will need to have a plan for throughout the game. Allen is also a respected defensive mind who did a good job at Indiana, so the expectation is that the Penn State defense should hit the ground running.
Penn State vs. West Virginia Betting Pick
Penn State -7.5 (-115) FanDuel
Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator’s terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.
