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NCAA Football

Week 2: Penn St. Nittany Lions vs. Virginia Cavaliers Preview & Free Pick

Penn St. vs Virginia Odds & Prediction

Penn State led 14-3 after a half in the emotion-filled matchup last week against Ohio, but the Nittany Lions were outscored 21-0 in the second half.

Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Scott Stadium, Charlottesville Virginia
Saturday September 8, 12:00 PM EST on ESPN2
College Football Betting Odds from BetDSI
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: Virginia -10 (-110) vs. Penn State +10 (-110)
Over/Under: 43.5

Matchup | Preview

The Nittany Lions now go on the road for the first time in the Bill O’Brien era. Virginia’s Scott Stadium is the oldest active football stadium in the state of Virginia. The Cavaliers were much improved in 2011. Let’s take a look at this Big 10/ACC matchup.

Penn State

Penn State’s offense was a problem in 2011, and last week they struggled once again. The loss of star running back Silas Redd clearly has hurt the program a great deal. Redd transferred to USC after the NCAA put the hammer down against Penn State. The Nittany Lions have a solid young runner in Bill Belton, but he doesn’t have the same presence as Redd. Matt McGloin was 27 for 48 passing last week. The fact that Penn State threw the ball 48 times was surprising. It seems O’Brien is going to try to turn this team into a pass happy team. Unfortunately, Penn State has a lot of inexperience at the wide receiver position.

The Nittany Lions defense allowed 499 total yards against Ohio last week. The Bobcats offense is much better than most people realize, but that was still a concerning number. The Nittany Lions were solid against the run, but the secondary struggled in a big way. Another thing that really hurt the Nittany Lions was their turnovers last week. Penn State had three turnovers and they didn’t force any Ohio turnovers. The defense will need to carry this team through the 2012 season.  [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Virginia

Mike London has done a great job turning this Cavaliers program around in his first couple years. Virginia finished 8-5 in 2011, and the team made it to a solid bowl game. The team returns 12 starters and 42 lettermen from a year ago. The biggest thing the Cavaliers must do different this year is win the turnover margin. The Cavaliers finished minus seven in turnover margin last season.

Virginia is a running team first, and they return all four of their leading rushers from a year ago. Perry Jones and Kevin Parks will see most of the action at tailback. Michael Rocco was solid at quarterback last year, but he needs to cut down on his turnovers this year. Virginia has a couple big recruits at wide receiver who should start producing this season. The line has three returning starters, and they should be solid. Defensively, Virginia returns only five starters from a year ago. The secondary is expected to start four sophomores, which could certainly mean they’ll be in for some rough sledding early in the year. The defensive line lost some big run stuffers, but the team depth there should help. Linebacker is where the team is strongest on the defensive end.

The Cavaliers are probably a better team than Penn State right now, but I think ten points is too much. The Nittany Lions defense should keep them close.

Free College Football Pick: Penn State +10

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By Kyle Hunter

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