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Penn State Football Opens As 18-Point Favorite Over Illinois

After steamrolling Kent State 56-0 its last time on the field, Penn State football continues its streak of home games against Illinois at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday for the blue and white’s first top-25 matchup of the season.

Despite Illinois defeating then-ranked Nebraska last week, DraftKings Sportsbook is still confident in the Nittany Lions to win under the lights of Beaver Stadium.

DraftKings has the current line for the contest set at 18 points in favor of Penn State with an over/under set at 48 points. Furthermore, for the first time in three weeks, the sportsbook is also offering bets on the money line of the game, where Penn State is favored at -1200, making Illinois a +750 underdog.

As a result of their shutout win over the Golden Flashes, the Nittany Lions covered the spread initially set at 49 points, making them 2-1 against the spread in the young season. Penn State also reached the over of 55 points by themselves, making the team 2-1 in that category as well.

In their first four games of the season, the Fighting Illini are 3-0-1 against the spread and 1-3 playing toward the over/under. In the teams’ last 10 matchups against each other, the Nittany Lions are 7-3 overall and 5-5 against the spread, according to OddsShark.

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About the Author

Brendan Wagner

Brendan is a senior majoring in print and media journalism. Born in Pittsburgh, he now lives in Mooresville, North Carolina. As a die-hard Pittsburgh sports fan, you can find him on Twitter, @brchwags, often complaining about the Pittsburgh Steelers and whoever their quarterback is, I'm scared.

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