In the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions (-7) are favorites against the No. 15 Memphis Tigers. This daytime game will get going at 12:00 p.m. ET and ESPN will broadcast the action.
Betting Preview: Memphis Tigers at Penn State Nittany Lions
In this Saturday matchup, Penn State has been projected as the favorite and the team’s currently giving up 7 points. In order to take the home favorite, moneyline gamblers would currently have to put down $300 to win $100 back on the Nittany Lions (-300). The Tigers are getting +220 moneyline odds. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 60 points. There should be multiple good live betting opportunities in this game.
The game’s total has been driven up after initially being set at 59. The opening line (-7) has remained firm.
Each team has rewarded gamblers this year as the Tigers have recorded 8.2 units and the Nittany Lions are ahead 3.6 units.
The Tigers have gone 12-1 straight up (SU) in 2019 while the Nittany Lions are 10-2 SU.
The Tigers are coming off a 29-24 victory over Cincinnati on December 7. The passing game could’ve been better as Brady White completed just 18 passes on 40 attempts for 253 yards, along with one score and a pick. Kenneth Gainwell (only 44 rushing yards on 18 attempts) and Patrick Taylor Jr. (38 yards on 11 carries) led the ground attack while Damonte Coxie (nine receptions, 165 yards) and Antonio Gibson (three catches, 32 yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties in the win.
Penn State just earned a 27-6 win over Rutgers. Will Levis completed eight-of-14 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Levis (108 yards on 17 rush attempts) and Journey Brown (103 yards on 16 carries, three TDs) mounted the running game as KJ Hamler (five receptions, 22 yards) and Jahan Dotson (one catch, 44 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching corps in the win.
In terms of offensive play-calling, each of these teams sports a strikingly similar (57-43) run-pass ratio on the season. The Tigers have run for 196.2 yards per game and have 29 scores on the ground this year. The Nittany Lions are totaling 173.5 rush yards per game and have 29 total rushing TDs.
The Tigers offensive scheme has logged 284.5 yards per contest in the air overall and has 33 passing TDs so far. The Nittany Lions have recorded 228.7 pass yards per game and have 24 total pass scores.
Defensively, Memphis should have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has let opponents rush for an average of 171.6 yards and pass for 200.7 yards per game. The Penn State defense has given up 232.5 yards per game to opposing passers and 99.6 yards per game on the ground. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Tigers have given up an ANY/A of 5.27 to opposing QBs, while the Nittany Lions are allowing an ANY/A of 5.35.
White has been more efficient than Levis of late, as his adjusted net yards per pass attempt sits at 9.51for the year and 6.32 over the past two games. Levis’ ANY/A is 3.25 for the season and 0.39 over his past two games.
Memphis Tigers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Pick
SU Winner: Memphis, ATS Winner: Memphis, O/U: Over
Team Betting Notes
- The Penn State D has sacked opposing QBs 39 times this season. Memphis has produced just 32 sacks.
- Penn State has lost five fumbles in 2019 while the Memphis offense has lost nine.
- The Tigers offense has produced 23 pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Nittany Lions have put up 13 such plays.
- The Memphis defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Penn State has given up eight such plays.
- The Memphis offense has created 22 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Penn State has created 17 such runs.
- The Tigers defense has allowed 18 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Nittany Lions have given up seven such runs.
- Memphis has produced 5.1 yards per carry across its past three contests and 4.7 over its last two.
- Penn State has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 4.3 over its past two.
