Vegas Big Ten Predictions
Game of the Week
Penn State vs. UCF (Dublin, Ireland)
Line: UCF by 2
Betsided
The Penn State Nittany Lions open the James Franklin era as underdogs in Ireland to UCF. Kind of disrespectful to a major college football program that has lots of talent back, even if it is breaking in a new coach. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg enters his second season after a very good freshman outing in which he threw for 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but how will he adjust to the new system. Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton are too very good senior running backs that will also work to take the pressure of Hackenberg, and the defense returns enough young talent for fans not to worry. But the offensive line and receiving corps are very talented but also very inexperienced, so we’ll learn more about both groups Saturday. Franklin has done a tremendous job keeping the distractions surrounding the program away from the team, and for Penn State to have a good season, that is going to be key.
FanSided
Central Florida, meanwhile, is tasked with replacing all everything quarterback Blake Bortles. Unlike Manziel at Texas A&M, Bortles’s production will be much harder to replace. Now the Knights are turning to redshirt freshman Pete DiNovo. What better way to throw him into the fire than against a Big Ten defense in Ireland of all places? George O’Leary has built a strong program at Central Florida, and Ireland is a perfect place for him after the drama about his past he faced during his brief tenure at Notre Dame and now his announced plans to apply for Irish citizenship. Still, he struggled to a 5-7 season in 2011 before Bortles became the full-time starter, so there are lots of questions facing this team, especially with their top three offensive linemen gone and running back Storm Johnson gone. But there are a lot of proven starters back on defense, and we’ll get a great measuring stick of the team Saturday.
Prediction
It’s shocking to me that Penn State would come into this game as an underdog, but that’s a testament to how much faith people have in O’Leary to replace the departure of Bortles and offset the loss with a loaded defense. This is, after all, a great football program. But Penn State has much more raw talent all over the field and a coach who won at Vanderbilt. That speaks for itself. The Nittany Lions are good enough to win this game and will win this game. It will be close, but UCF will have two key fourth quarter turnovers to cost them the game, and Penn State will capitalize.
Penn State: 24 UCF: 21