Penn State Betting 🎖️ How to Wager on the Nittany Lions

College football is the name of the game in the Fall, and the Nittany Lions are trying to top the Big Ten to get to the Bowl games. With a good team and a long-term head coach in the helm, Penn State is a real contender in the Conference every year.

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🏈 Penn State Football Betting 2023

Penn State Football

Start betting on Penn State this season with the best sportsbooks in PA.

Pennsylvania State University, better known as Penn State, is one of the leading D1 football colleges in the country. The team plays in the Big Ten Conference with several Bowl contenders. You can bet on Penn State football team on all Pennsylvania sportsbooks; there are some limitations on the types of bets you can place, but most pre-game wagers are allowed.

🏈 Betting on College Football

Betting on college sports is allowed in Pennsylvania and you can bet on in-state college teams like Penn State. However, you won’t find player props for Penn State or Pittsburgh Panthers betting as those are not legal in Pennsylvania online gambling. The differences in college and NFL rules don’t affect betting as they are not significant relating to the results.

Bet Types

Aside from player props, you can still place several types of bets on Penn State. Each online sportsbook posts the odds for the games well in advance, meaning you can take your time browsing the sportsbooks to find the best odds for your chosen bets.

  • Point Spreads
    Point spread indicates the presumed scoring difference between the two teams. One is labeled as the favorite with a minus sign (like -3.5), while the other is the underdog indicated by the plus sign (+3.5). The favorite must win by 4 points or more to “cover the spread” and for those bettors to win. The underdog must be within three points or win outright to cover. Point spreads are extremely popular for football betting and each sportsbook offers them for all games. The odds are usually balanced on both sides (at -110) to ensure there’s a somewhat even distribution of bettors.
  • Moneylines
    Another popular betting type, moneylines are bets on the outright winner of the game. The same symbols indicate the favorite and the underdog, with one difference: the odds have a plus or minus sign, so +220 and -130. You stand to win more if you bet on the underdog, but the differences among college teams can be huge so it’s often not worth your while.
  • Totals
    Totals are over/under bets on a result. You can bet on the total score of the Penn State vs Purdue game (whether it’s over or under a certain predetermined number) or on the number of games Penn State is going to win this year (over/under 8).
  • Futures
    Future bets are bets on eventual winners of the Big Ten, National Championship, or the Heisman Trophy. The odds change throughout the season, so betting early means getting a bigger payout if your pick wins.
  • Parlays
    Parlays combine several bets (legs) as one wager. You can bet that Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan all cover the spread in their games. If all do, you win your parlay. If one or more doesn’t, you lose. You can also place same game parlays on most sportsbooks, but your options are more limited for college football since player props aren’t allowed.

Betting Tips

Even though there are no drastic differences between NFL and college wagering, you might want to check out our tips on how to make the most of your betting experience. There are some regions where people are more into college football than pro sports, meaning sportsbooks try to take care that they are not out of the loop when it comes the power rankings.

  1. Stick to What You Know: There are literally hundreds of top-tier college football programs in the U.S. You can’t follow all of them closely. Fortunately, neither can the oddsmakers. Stick to the teams you know best and you are in a better position to win your bets. Keep in mind that Penn State is one of the bigger programs in the nation and does get decent media coverage. If you can find out information, so can the people who make the odds.
  2. Conference Differences: Because there are so many college football programs, the top talent is not spread evenly. This can lead to big mismatches which are reflected in the odds. It might not be worthwhile to bet on each Penn State game if they are the runaway favorites as your payouts will be quite small.
  3. Bowl Games: Threat or Opportunity? In general, betting on your favorite teams during the regular season is a safer choice since there are so many games each weekend and some match-ups not evaluated correctly. That all changes come post-season as there are so few teams moving on. Oddsmakers check the teams thoroughly and you probably won’t find any insights of your own. However, taking a risk on an underdog might net you big bucks if they do manage an upset. While we are not recommending place huge stack of dollars against Alabama, you never know what might happen.
How to Bet on Penn State

Online wagering on Penn State is easy; just get started with our tips!

🏈 Finding a PA Sportsbook

Now that you are ready to bet on Penn State, you just need to find an online sportsbook you like. PA online sportsbooks all have great odds, excellent bonuses, and easy-to-use apps. In general, you can’t go wrong with any of the books we recommend but there might be differences in odds and promos. That’s why recommend check out PA sports betting promos and signing up on a few books.

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🏈 PSU Nittany Lions Schedule 2023

The 2023 season starts off with an away game against Purdue, followed by non-Big Ten games. If Penn State gets off to a good start, they are in a position to win back-to-back in Ann Arbor. If the Nittany Lions have any hope of winning Big Ten, the Ohio State game is a must-win.

Date Opponent
September 2 vs West Virginia
September 9 vs Delaware
September 16 @ Illinois
September 23 vs Iowa
September 30 @ Northwestern
October 14 vs UMass
October 21 @ Ohio State
October 28 vs Indiana
November 4 @ Maryland
November 11 vs Michigan
November 18 vs Rutgers
November 25 @ Michigan State

Bolded are Big Ten match-ups.

🏈 PSU 2022 Season

Penn State started the season unranked for the first time since 2016, and sought to improve from their 2021 season. The Nittany Lions recruited QB Drew Allar and RB Nicholas Singleton, and managed to go 10-2, losing only to Michigan and Ohio State, perennial Big Ten Conference favorites. The season ended in the Rose Bowl, where Penn State defeated Utah and won their first Rose Bowl since 1995.

Last updated: 03/15/2023

🏈 FAQ

1️⃣ Who is the head coach of Penn State?

James Franklin is the head coach of Penn State football. He has been coaching the Nittany Lions since 2014 and while the early years were quite prosperous, the 2020 and 2021 campaigns were letdowns. In 2022, the Nittany Lions rebounded and went 11-2.

2️⃣ Has Penn State ever won a National Championship?

Yes, they won two National Championship under former head coach Joe Paterno in 1982 and '86.

3️⃣ Who is Penn State's biggest rival?

Sadly, Penn State doesn't seem to have a love-to-hate-them type of rival. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is legendary and it's unlikely that either of them would consider Penn State as their biggest rival in Big Ten, so the Nittany Lions have to settle for being the little brother to these two.