In the wonderful land of odds, Penn State is a massive early favorite over Nevada.
Nevada is the first of 12 regular-season opponents on the docket for Penn State in 2025, and has virtually no chance of coming to Happy Valley and winning.
So the 43.5-point spread shouldnโt come as a surprise to anybody.
Penn State is coming off a season in which it was a play away from making it to the national championship game. Nevada went 3-10 last year, playing in a Mountain West Conference that, well, isnโt the Big Ten.
PSU has never lost an out-of-conference home game in the James Franklin era. PSUโs last OOC loss in Beaver Stadium took place in September 2013 against Blake Bortles and Central Florida.
That UCF team ended up finishing the season undefeated and winning the Fiesta Bowl. Itโs highly doubtful that this Nevada squad has the potential to do that.
WILL PENN STATE COVER?
Drew Allar rushes for a first quarter score against Bowling Green.
The question isnโt whether or not Penn State will beat Nevada. Unless Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton and several others are injured, suspended or abducted by aliens, Penn State is probably ok to go 1-0.
With that said, 43.5-points is a lot to cover, and itโs possible Penn State will have some trouble.
PSU was a 34.5-point favorite against Bowling Green last season and only ended up winning by seven. It also must be said that Bowling Green didnโt go 3-10 the year before.
THE ROAD DOESNโT GET TOUGHER
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: James Franklin
Ok, so the road does get tougher for Penn State eventually. Justโฆ not for a little bit. After Nevada, Penn State takes on Villanova and FIU at Beaver Stadium. Those two teams might be able to beat Penn Stateโฆ if they combine rosters.
PSUโs Sept. 27 game against Oregon might tell a different story.
Regardless of odds, Penn State-Nevada is scheduled for Aug. 30 at a time and TV channel to be determined.
