NCAA Football Week One Wagering Pick – Coastal Carolina at Penn State

The Penn State Nittany Lions, (9-4 SU, 4-4 Conf., 6-7 ATS, 6-7 O/U) posted a solid straight up and conference record in 2007, but clearly are not a National Championship caliber contender these days as venerable longtime head coach Joe Paterno stubbornly holds onto the title of head coach despite his status as one of the nation’s most well-known octogenarians.

The Nittany Lions will be a team undergoing several significant changes in 2008 as the team will start a new quarterback following the graduation of 2007 starter Anthony Morelli.

Junior, Daryll Clark and red-shirt freshman Pat Devlin figure on sharing time under center until one or the other claims the starting job. The Lions will also have a new starting tailback in sophomore Evan Royster, though redshirt freshman Stephfon Green will also get his share of carries.

The team’s young signal callers also have a slew of talented wide receivers and the offensive line returns all five starters returning from a unit that should be one of the best in the Big Ten in 2008.

Penn State should also have one of the best defensive lines in the nation, led by junior defensive end Maurice Evans, (12.5 sacks in 2007).

With senior linebacker Sean Lee suffering a knee injury this spring and Dan Connor moving on to the NFL, there are questions at linebacker, though the Lions do have the makings of a solid secondary.

Having lived just down the street from Coastal Carolina University for several years in Myrtle Beach, S.C., I can say from first-hand knowledge that the Chanticleers would likely struggle against one of the nation’s best high school teams with their unimpressive talent level.

The Chanticleers, went an uninspiring 5-6 overall last season, but managed to go an impressive 3-1 Big South Conference games. Coastal Carolina averaged a fine 28.7 points per game offensively, but allowed nearly as much, giving up 26.1 points per game.

The Chanticleers relied on their rushing attack to average a whopping 204.1 yards per contest, but again, allowed more yards per game on the ground than they gained, giving up a whopping 218.9 rushing yards per game.

Coastal Carolina averaged just 156.3 passing yards per game last season and limited their opponents to jut 141.4 per game.

Analysis: I’ll keep this pick short and sweet for the BetUS online NCAA college football wagering community by saying that the Chanticleers are going down hard and fast against the totally superior Nittany Lions who have the perfect Week One matchup in which to get their young quarterbacks a big boost of confidence. I usually hate high point spreads like this one, but am supremely confident that the Nittany Lions will rock and roll all over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

NCAAF Free Pick: Penn State -37 Points

Coastal Carolina @ Penn State
Coastal Carolina +37 Points -115
Penn State -37 Points -115

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