Welcome to Homecoming weekend, folks.

After suffering one of the worst losses in program history against UCLA, Penn State will aim to end its two-game losing streak against the Northwestern Wildcats in its annual Homecoming and Stripe Out game.

This will be the first time since 2022 that Penn State will play as an unranked team after falling out of the rankings in the week seven AP poll. The Nittany Lions are winless in conference play after starting 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2020.

The opening line against Northwestern has been set at -21.5 points in the Nittany Lions’ favor, with the over/under listed at 46.5 points, according to DraftKings. The money line is in favor of Penn State at -1650. Northwestern is a +950 underdog.

The Nittany Lions still have not covered the spread so far this season. Penn State is reeling heading into Northwestern after back-to-back losses. In the process, the Nittany Lions went from the No. 3 team in the country to unranked in just two weeks. It’s Penn State’s first time with consecutive losses under James Franklin since 2021.

Week six’s loss to the Bruins was soul-crushing for Penn State. UCLA went into the game winless, fired its head coach less than a month ago, and hadn’t led for a single second in 2025. Despite that, the Nittany Lions still lost the game to a team that Northwestern beat two weeks ago and held to 14 points.

As for Northwestern, it has the same record as Penn State at 3-2. It is 3-2 against the spread this season and undefeated as a favorite. The Wildcats are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games against the Nittany Lions, according to OddsShark. Despite that, they are coming into this game with more momentum than the Nittany Lions, having won back-to-back games.

The Nittany Lions’ odds to win the national championship are now +3500 after the loss to UCLA. They now trail 13 teams ahead of them, including the favorite, Ohio State, at +425. Penn State is now a heavy underdog to make the College Football Playoff at +600 odds.