You know how you can tell if college football is getting close? By being able to lay down absurd amounts of money on teams that are still two months away from a full practice thanks to our friends in Las Vegas, most specifically Golden Nugget who released point spreads for 250 games yesterday including eight Penn State games. Here's what Sin City thinks of the Nittany Lions in those games that already have lines attached to them:
Aug. 31 - Penn State (-6.5) vs. Syracuse
Oct. 12 - Michigan (-2.5) at Penn State
Oct. 26 - Penn State at Ohio State (-16)
Nov. 2 - Illinois at Penn State (-19)
Nov. 9 - Penn State at Minnesota (+8)
Nov. 16 - Purdue at Penn State (-13.5)
Nov. 23 - Nebraska at Penn State (Pick ‘em)
Nov. 30 - Penn State at Wisconsin (-9)
It's a generally accepted practice not to bet in any game that involves the team that you hold a rooting interest in, but there are two lines that pop out to me well before the season starts. First off, while Illinois will still be Illinois this year, their offense should be improved with the addition of Bill Cubit as the team's offensive coordinator. Cubit brought the spread to Western Michigan in his last coaching stop and led them to a top-30 offense in 2012. Playing the Illini a week after what will be a hard-fought game with Ohio State, 19 points may be a few too many to give up on Penn State's end.
Secondly, Wisconsin is breaking in a new coach and who knows how their quarterback situation will shake out after the debacle the position provided for the team last year. James While and Melvin Gordon are still around to move to the ball on the ground, but looking at this game in early June, Penn State should be able to keep it within a touchdown if not win it. If you can get good money for your bet, taking Penn State and picking up the nine points makes a lot of sense.
We'll do this on a national scale once the season rolls around, but we still have 84 days until we greet the 2013 slate of games.
Are you ready?
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