It’s a rematch of a great Big 10/SEC battle from last season when Auburn hosts No. 22 Penn State Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare. These teams played a dandy of a game early last season up at Happy Valley, a 28-20 Nittany Lions victory. Now, the Tigers would love to return the favor.
Penn State is lined as a field-goal favorite on the road for this contest. Which way are we going here with our free college football betting pick?
Penn State-Auburn Betting Odds
Week 3’s college football betting lines opened the Nittany Lions as three-point road favorites for Saturday, with an over/under of around 48. Both figures were holding steady in the early betting action.
Anyone thinking Auburn might win this game outright could get around +125 on the college football money line.
Penn State-Auburn College Football Betting Preview
The Nittany Lions opened their 2022 season with a fun 35-31 victory at Purdue. Then last week, beat Ohio 46-10. Penn State squeaked out the cover against the Boilermakers as a favorite of 3.5 points, then covered at -27.5 against the Bobcats.
The Lions drove their first possession of the game last week 77 yards to a touchdown, then scored five minutes later on a 70-yard bolt by RB Singleton to go up 14-0. Penn State led 24-7 at the half, then scored the first 20 points of the second half to put the game away.
The Nittany Lions out-gained Ohio 572-259 and out-rushed the Bobcats 234-100.
Two weeks ago, Penn State led Purdue 21-10 at the half, fell down 31-28 midway through the fourth quarter but drove 80 yards to a game-winning touchdown with just under a minute to go.
The Lions actually got out-gained by the Boilers that night 426-406.
Penn State only returned 11 starters this season, seven on offense but only four on defense, from a team that played 7-6 last season.
The Tigers, meanwhile, opened their 2022 campaign with a 42-16 win over FCS Mercer, then struggled to beat San Jose State last week, 24-16. Auburn came up short ATS at -30 against the Bears and at -24 against the Spartans.
The Tigers actually trailed San Jose State last week 10-7 at the half, scored the first 10 points of the second half to take the lead for good but whiffed against that spread.
Auburn out-gained the Spartans 378-329, won the ground battle 210-54 but lost time of possession by a 33:27 split.
Two weeks ago, the Tigers led Mercer 28-0 in the second quarter and 42-7 in the third but took their foot off the gas and gave up a touchdown with 25 seconds left to miss out on the cash.
Auburn returned 13 this season, seven on offense and six on defense, from a team that played 6-7 last season.
Penn State-Auburn History
These programs split a pair of bowl games 20-25 years ago. Then last September, the Nittany Lions beat the Tigers at Beaver Stadium 28-20. Penn State led that game 21-10 in the third quarter, let Auburn get within 21-20 early in the fourth, but tacked seven points and hung on from there for the win and the cover at -4.
The Lions out-gained the Tigers that night 386-367 but Auburn out-rushed Penn State 182-84.
Also, that game played under a total of 53, thanks mainly to a Lions defensive stop deep in their red zone late in the game.
- Get more details: Penn State vs. Auburn Week 3 Betting Stats
College Football Betting Trends
So far this college football season, teams ranked in the AP Top 25 are 33-5 SU, 19-18 ATS vs. unranked opponents.
Auburn is 1-3 both SU and ATS in its last four games vs. the Big 10.
Penn State is 1-2 both SU and ATS in its last three games vs. the SEC.
The SEC played 3-2 both SU and ATS against the Big 10 last season.
Totals Report
Penn State’s wins over Purdue and Ohio played over on the totals.
Auburn’s win over Mercer played over a total of 51, while last week’s game against San Jose State played under a total of 49.
