No. 15 Penn State begins life without record-setting quarterback Trace McSorley on Saturday afternoon when the Nittany Lions are huge home favorites on the College Football Odds against FCS school Idaho, which is basically just cashing a check to lose by a ton.
How to Bet Idaho vs Penn State 2019 College Football Week 1 Odds & Game Info
- When: Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
- Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Live Stream: BTN+
- Radio: SiriusXM
- College Football Week 1 Odds: Penn State -39.5 (Total 58.5)
Florida Atlantic vs Ohio State 2019 College Football Week 1 Lines, Game Info & Analysis
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 25°C/77°F
- Humidity: 60%
- Precipitation: 10%
- Cloud Cover: 46%
- Wind: 4 mph NE
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on Idaho?
The Vandals are an FCS program from the Big Sky Conference. They finished 4-7 last year and did face one big-time program, losing in the season finale 63-10 to No. 13 Florida in Gainesville. Idaho avoided a shutout when Cade Coffee connected on a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter and on a 12-yard pass from Mason Petrino to Jeff Cotton with 1:47 left in the game. The Vandals also were 0-6 in Big Sky play and were outscored by an average of 51.7 to 18.2.
Idaho was near the bottom of the FCS with 37.5 points allowed a game. The good news is leading tackler Christian Elliss is back at linebacker. Idaho has five of its top 11 tacklers returning. There is impressive talent in the secondary with Jalen Hoover and Lloyd Hightower leading the way. Of the 12 transfers coming into the program this year, 10 of them are on defense.
Offensively, eight starters return. The two top rushers are gone by the quarterback Petrino returns. He played in all 11 games last year and started the final 10. Petrino completed 199-of-333 passes (59.8 percent) for 1,933 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was also the team’s third-leading rusher with 245 yards and second on the team with three rushing touchdowns. His most memorable moment was throwing a game-winning touchdown with 27 seconds to play against nationally-ranked North Dakota.
Idaho football is 0-1 all-time against Big Ten opponents and 0-2 against current members of the conference. The Vandals suffered a 27-17 loss at Michigan State to open the 2006 season. Idaho fell at Nebraska 38-17 in 2010, when the Huskers were still members of the Big 12.
Idaho’s game at Penn State marks the eighth time in the last nine years the Vandals have played a game in the Eastern Time Zone, including the fourth straight season. This will be Idaho’s 12th game in the Eastern Time Zone since 2011.
Team Stats
Offense- Points per Game: 11.50
- Passing Yards: 139.00
- Rushing Yards: 128.00
- Yards per Play: 4.02
Defense
- Points per Game: 71.00
- Passing Yards: 323.00
- Rushing Yards: 220.00
- Yards per Play: 7.14
Why Bet on Penn State?
The Nittany Lions finished 9-4 last year after losing the Citrus Bowl 27-24 to Kentucky. Penn State’s Trace McSorley trimmed a 27-7 deficit to three points despite playing with a foot injury. McSorley threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions’ career passing and wins leader also rushed for a team-high 75 yards and one TD.
McSorley is clearly the top loss of last year’s team. He holds Penn State’s career records for: wins (31), completions (720), passing yards (9,899), passing touchdowns (77), total offense (11,596), rushing yards by a quarterback (1,697), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (30), touchdowns responsible for (107), consecutive games with a touchdown pass (34), 300-yard passing games (10) and 200-yard passing games (28).
Sean Clifford takes over under center, beating out long-time McSorley backup Tommy Stevens, who transferred. Clifford appeared in four games last year. In a blowout of Kent State, he completed all three passes for 117 yards. Clifford connected with Daniel George on a career-long and school-record 95-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It broke the previous record of 92 yards from Bill Hess to Bob Higgins in 1919.
The Nittany Lions return 14 starters – five on offense, six on defense and three on special teams. Eleven additional Penn Staters have starting experience.
Penn State has won 15 of its last 17 season-opening contests and its last six consecutive home openers. All-time, the Nittany Lions are 109-21-2 in season-opening games. Idaho is Penn State’s first Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent since the 2011 season opener against Indiana State. From 2012-18, Penn State was one of just six Power Five schools (Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, USC, UCLA) to not play an FCS opponent.
Team Stats
Offense- Points per Game: 33.77
- Passing Yards: 218.15
- Rushing Yards: 205.08
- Yards per Play: 6.12
Defense
- Points per Game: 20.54
- Passing Yards: 181.46
- Rushing Yards: 169.00
- Yards per Play: 4.72
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Idaho vs Penn State 2019 College Football Week 1 Betting Trends
- Vandals are 1-7 SU in their last 8 games played in August
- Vandals are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games played in week 1
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Idaho’s last 5 games played on a Saturday
- Nittany Lions are 18-2 SU in their last 20 games at home
- Nittany Lions are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games played in week 1
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Penn State’s last 5 games
Expert Final Score Prediction for Idaho vs Penn State
Idaho 6 – Penn State 42
