Capital One Bowl betting has two Top 20 teams on New Year’s Day as 13th ranked LSU faces 11th ranked Penn State. Each team was hoping for a BCS game but neither team played well enough to get one. Penn State is the slight college football betting favorite in this early New Year’s Day matchup.Capital One Bowl betting has Penn State a 2.5 point favorite with a total of 44. The question for the Nittany Lions in Capital One Bowl betting is whether or not they can win a big game. “There’s a lot being said about us not being able to win the big game,” said Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark, “We’ve asked for a big game and we’ve asked for a worthy opponent, a really good opponent and we found one in LSU.” The other question in Capital One Bowl betting is whether or not LSU is really a great opponent. LSU gave up almost 400 yards per game in their last four contests. The team blew an 11-point halftime lead against Arkansas and lost 33-30 in the regular season finale. LSU has been a good team in bowl games though as under head coach Les Miles they have won their four bowl games by an average of 28.5 points per LSU vs. Penn State. “I don’t know that there’s any magic to it in any way,” Miles said. “I just think our guys get to the back end of the season and recognize the opportunity to play a quality opponent and win a (bowl game).”
Capital One Bowl betting could come down to which quarterback plays well. Clark threw 23 TD passes this season but when the Nittany Lions lost, he made mistakes. LSU has forced 37 turnovers the past two seasons so Clark will have to avoid interceptions. Penn State’s defense also forces turnovers so LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson will have to avoid turnovers. LSU could be getting tailback Charles Scott back for Capital One Bowl LSU vs. Penn State. He is their leading rusher but broke his collarbone in early November.
Penn State is 1-3 in Capital One Bowl betting while LSU is 1-1. As mentioned earlier, the Tigers are 4-0 in college football betting in their last 4 bowl games. The Tigers are 15-6 vs. the college football betting line in their last 21 non-conference games but they are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games overall.
The Nittany Lions are 6-2 in college football betting in their last 8 games overall. The Nittany Lions are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.