Capital One Bowl Betting

LSU Tigers (9-3) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2)
Opening Line: Nittany Lions -2.5 / Tigers +2.5 O/U 43.5
Time: 1 PM EST Friday January 1, 2010 on ABC

In match up of a couple of teams that were very close to playing in BCS bowl games the LSU Tigers take on the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State would have played in the Rose Bowl, but they lost their last game of the season to Ohio State. LSU lost 2 games in the 4th quarter to both Alabama and Florida and those losses killed their BCS hopes. If the Tigers win this game they will have won 10 games for the 4th time in the last 5 seasons. LSU did not end the season well losing 2 of their last 3 games while Penn State won their last 2 games. This bowl game will pit the solid defense of the Tigers against the solid offense of the Nittany Lions. However, Penn State does have a better defense in terms of rankings and they will be facing a Tigers team that is dealing with injury issues.

This season LSU was 5-6-1 ATS and Penn State was 5-6 ATS.

In their last games of the season LSU beat Arkansas 33-30 in OT and Penn State crushed Michigan State 42-14.

Penn State had the nation's 36th ranked offense and they are legit in moving the chains in the air and on the ground with QB Daryll Clark (2,787 yds 23 TD 1- INT) and RB Evan Royster (1,104 yds 6 TD). Royster is a tough back to bring down and he averaged 5.9 yards per carry this season. Clark has a solid receiving corps and he has to hold onto the ball in this game, as he tends to turn the ball over against great defensive teams and LSU's defense is great at creating turnovers. LSU's defense ranks 28th in the nation and they play the run and the pass well. The LSU D is the key to them winning, as their offense is only ranked 108th in the nation.

LSU and is led by QB Jordan Jefferson (1,964 yds 16 TD 6 INT) and he may be counted on more in this game since leading RB Charles Scott may not play in this game due to an injury. The Tigers' RB squad is really banged up and if Scott can't play they may be in trouble. The Penn State defense ranks 8th in the nation, rank 10th nationally against the run (93.9 ypg), and allows the fourth-fewest points per game (11.8 ppg). As usual the Nittany Lions have solid linebackers so the LSU offensive line has to play well and not let the LB's wreak havoc in the backfield.

The Nittany Lions are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games and the Tigers are 6-12-1 ATS in their last 19 games.