Penn State Nittany Lions Odds - Cotton Bowl Betting

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Penn State Nittany Lions Betting - Cotton Bowl Odds

The Penn State Nittany Lions put themselves in a position to compete for the Big Ten Championship, which is all they could ask for in a season that had so many questions coming in. Despite a cold finish to a season that had a blistering start, PSU was invited to the Cotton Bowl where they will square off against the top Group of Five team the Memphis Tigers. While Memphis coach Mike Norvell recently accepted the same position at Florida State, the Nittany Lions locked up James Franklin with a multi-year extension after the program reached double figures in victories for the third time in four seasons.

Cotton Bowl Odds

Penn State Nittany Lions -6.5

Memphis Tigers +6.5

Total 60.5

All you could ask for is a chance. And the Nittany Lions gave themselves exactly that with a Week 13 game against Ohio State for the Big Ten West title and a trip to the conference championship. Like every other team so far this season PSU came up short against the Buckeyes, though they played them closer than anyone in the eventual 28-17 loss. The Nittany Lions dropped two of three games with a setback to Minnesota a few weeks earlier. They got back on track in the regular season finale with a 27-6 win over Rutgers where a number of regulars were given the day off. PSU failed to cover and went 1-3 ATS in its last four games.

The emergence of Sean Clifford helped the offense overcome the loss of Trace McSorley and Miles Sanders from a season ago. Clifford helped the team to an 8-0 record before a slip up against the Gophers. He ended the regular season throwing for 2,521 yards and 22 touchdowns against six interceptions with an additional 374 yards and five scores on the ground. He was hurt in the Ohio State game missing the second half. Still hampered Clifford was held out against Rutgers, though he should be ready for the Tigers.

Along with leading rusher Journey Brown and top receiver K.J. Hamler, PSU had a nice trifecta to run the offense. They averaged nearly 404 total yards per game while tossing up 34.3 points per outing to tie for third in the Big Ten. But this year’s Cotton Bowl will come down to Penn State’s defense against Memphis’ offense. In a conference with several top defenses, the Nittany Lions were right there. They had the Big Ten’s best run defense and ranked third in the conference and seventh nationally allowing only 14.1 points per game.

There’s always going to be questions regarding the Group of Five teams and how they stack up against a quality P5 club. Memphis earned the New Year’s Six invite as the best G5 team and the effort got their head coach a new gig. The Tigers won a major-college program record 12 games this year putting Norvell on the radar of a number of P5 teams. Florida State won the bidding contest, but Norvell has stated he wants to finish the season with the Tigers. They’ve already moved on with an interim coach for the bowl and I can see why Norvell wants to stick around. He hasn’t won a bowl game in three tries and this is his last chance at Memphis.

One guy who can end the streak is Kenneth Gainwell, the Tigers’ top playmaking threat. He was held in check in the AAC title matchup, but that’s not the norm for the redshirt freshman, who is likely to have a big game in the fast break offense. Gainwell ran for 1,425 yards averaging 6.4 yards per pop with 12 touchdowns. He also chipped in with 44 receptions for 536 yards and three more scores for an offense that scored 40.5 points per game.

Regular Season Recap

If a season can be both a success and a failure this was it. With so much lost from last season and many unknowns entering the 2019 campaign, Franklin wasn’t sure what he had. Turned out he had quite a bit. PSU won its first eight games and had a chance to play for the Big Ten title except that darn Ohio State club got in the way. The Nittany Lions still had a 10-win regular season getting them a trip to the Cotton Bowl. It was the third time in four years PSU reached double figures in victories putting an end to the season with a 27-6 decision over Rutgers to finish the regular season at 10-2 SU and 6-6 ATS.

Everything came together in what became a magical season. Clifford emerged as a top dual-threat option, Brown was the workhorse back and the defense was solid as ever. It probably helped that the group had a cupcake game against FCS Idaho to open the season. Making his first start Clifford threw for 280 yards and a pair of scores with an additional 57 yards on the ground. PSU scored its most points since 1991 in the 79-7 rout.

Wins over Buffalo, Pitt, Maryland and Purdue followed and questions about the quality of opponents started to be asked. Beating ranked Iowa and Michigan validated the team’s work and started a stretch of six games against the baddest teams in the league. The perfect season ended in a loss to Minnesota. Two weeks later dreams of a division were dashed in a loss at Ohio State. Getting points for the first time PSU covered the 20-point spread but they were denied a chance to play in the championship game.

2019-20 College Bowls Betting Schedule

NCAA Football Teams

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2019 NCAA Football Schedule

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