NCAA Football BETTING PREVIEW - Penn State Nittany Lions @ Ohio State Buckeyes

NCAA Football

2025-11-01 - Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio State Buckeyes

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Penn State Nittany Lions @ Ohio State Buckeyes
United States : College Football Week 10
Saturday 1st November 2025 - Scheduled 12pm
4pm (British Time)

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Preview

The Big Ten has proven to be a very powerful Conference and in pre-season this would have been a game that could be circled as one of the pivotal ones when it comes to separating the elite and the very, very good. Both the Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) and Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4) were expected to return to the College Football Playoff, but it has been a year that has gone very differently for the two schools.

The defending National Champions Ohio State have looked like a team that could go back to back and they are 4-0 in Big Ten play, which leaves them as one of two unbeaten teams in the Conference. This was one of the games that looked potentially hazardous at the start of the season, but the Buckeyes have been set as a monster favourite as the Penn State season has fallen apart.

Head Coach James Franklin has been fired and the Nittany Lions have lost all four Conference games played to slip under 0.500 for the season. This is a team that have won at least ten games in each of the last three years, while further issues have come out of the fact that Drew Allar has been injured and lost for the season.

A Bye Week can help, although there is no doubt that this is a huge challenge for a Nittany Lions team that have been hit hard over the last month.

Motivation to face the Ohio State Buckeyes will have seen plenty of enthusiasm in the build up to the Week 10 game, but Penn State will need inexperienced Quarter Back Ethan Grunkemeyer to step up very quickly.

There are big expectations being carried by Grunkemeyer, but those would have been for the years ahead and not in 2025- his first start against the Iowa Hawkeyes will have been an eye-opening experience for the young Quarter Back who had 93 passing yards and 2 Interceptions on the day.

Now he has to face an Ohio State Defensive unit that has looked about as good as any out there in the College Football circuit.

Problems begin up front where the Penn State Nittany Lions Offensive Line are going to be challenged in their bid to establish the run. With an inexperienced Quarter Back, everyone will know that Penn State will want to put Ethan Grunkemeyer in the best position possible by keeping him in front of the chains, but this Buckeyes Defensive Line have been stout all season. They will perhaps not fear the passing game in any real way and that should see Ohio State clamp down on the ground attack and see how much this Quarter Back has learned over the last couple of weeks.

Despite teams trailing in games against the Buckeyes, opponents have not had a lot of success throwing into this Ohio State Secondary. The Nittany Lions Offensive Line has been pretty good in pass protection, but holding things together for long enough in obvious passing situations will be challenging and it could be a tough day in the office for the road team.

The key to the spread is going to be how well the Nittany Lions can lock down on the other side of the ball.

In recent games, the Defensive Line have just had a few issues in slowing down the run as the competition has stepped up, but they are facing an Ohio State team whose one disappointment this season has been in establishing the run. Head Coach Ryan Day has spoken openly about the issues that have been preventing the Buckeyes Offensive Line from finding the push up front and they have been on a Bye Week with that sole intention of figuring things out.

This is where the spread will be won or lost- if the Buckeyes can even get a little bit going on the ground and improve on recent numbers, Quarter Back Julian Sayin should be in a very comfortable spot. Struggles on the ground have not affected his performances so far this season, but this Penn State Secondary have been playing well and they will believe they can stall some drives.

Ohio State should win, but it has been a long time since they would have been favoured by such a margin to beat Penn State.

This will not be lost on the Nittany Lions who will want to come out of the Bye Week and show what they are made of, but it is a tough situation for them with a Freshman Quarter Back against a very talented Buckeyes Defensive unit. In recent years, the Nittany Lions have been given 17.5 and 18.5 points against Ohio State in 2016 and 2021 respectively and covered both times so they have to be respected.

If the Buckeyes Offensive Line is not able to get the run going up front, this could be a tough game for Ohio State to cover.

However, the feeling is that Ethan Grunkemeyer may be lured into a mistake or two, which gives the Buckeyes the short fields needed to make a big statement to the rest of the College Football nation. The rivalry should keep Penn State involved mentally, but this is a tough test for a team that have taken a lot of blows over the last month and the Buckeyes can make that show on the scoreboard when all is said and done.

Prediction

The pre-season line was only 3.5 points, but the current state of the Penn State Nittany Lions has seen that balloon out in favour of the home favourite, who can do enough to win and cover.

The Pick :

Ohio State 31-10 Penn State

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Ohio State Buckeyes - 18.5 Points at -112 with Bookmaker.eu