How to watch Michigan vs. Penn State, other top games for Week 11

How to watch Michigan vs. Penn State, other top games for Week 11

The Nittany Lions are by far the toughest opponent on Michigan’s schedule to date.

How to Watch Michigan vs Penn State, top games in Week 11 - Maize n Brew

The Michigan Wolverines have breezed through their schedule on the path to a perfect 9-0 start. That may all change with their first contest against a top-25 opponent this week as they head to Happy Valley to face the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions.

This game will be the center of what is a spectacular weekend of college football with some tog dogs in several conferences squaring up. Let’s dig into some of the best action of Week 11 and how to bet Michigan-Penn State courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

No. 3 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions

  • Time: Noon ET
  • TV: FOX
  • Location: University Park, PA
  • Weather: 38 degrees, partly cloudy
  • DraftKings OddsMICH -5, O/U: 45, ML: MICH -205, PSU +170
  • Best Bet (16-13-2): MICH -5

Michigan has owned this series for the last decade. The Wolverines have won six of the last nine meetings and are 7-3 ATS the past 10 times these two have squared up. Michigan is also a perfect 3-0 ATS on the road this season.

I have doubts about the Michigan offensive line, specifically at left tackle where LaDarius Henderson and Myles Hinton have seen time this season. Henderson was not good last week, as Purdue’s vaunted edge rushers put pressure on Michigan all day long. Now they face a Penn State defense that leads the Big Ten with 38 sacks, which is 10 more than the next closest team.

Things got dicey against Purdue because pressure was being put on J.J. McCarthy, causing him to misfire more than a handful of times. Michigan’s front will have to play much better on the road for this offense to put up the same number of points that they have become used to this season.

At the same time, I think this Michigan defense will be the best Penn State will play this year. Against Ohio State (in Columbus), the Nittany Lions ran for only 49 yards and Drew Allar was sacked four times. This made James Franklin’s offense one-dimensional, as Allar threw the ball 42 times, completing only 18 passes for 191 yards. If Michigan can drum up similar pressure and stop the run, they should be in a great place to win this contest.

Franklin has also been historically bad against top-25 teams in his tenure. He is 1-5 against top-10 teams at home, 5-8 against ranked opponents, and 1-7 overall against top-5 teams. If those trends continue, Michigan has a great shot at winning this game.

No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs

  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV: ESPN
  • Location: Athens, GA
  • Weather: 51 degrees, partly cloudy
  • DraftKings OddsUGA -10.5, O/U: 58.5, ML: UGA -455, MISS +350
  • Best Bet (16-13-2): UGA -10.5

Ole Miss is one of the surprises of the SEC this season as the Rebels have only lost one game: at Alabama earlier in the year. They’re on a heck of a run going 6-2-1 ATS this season. In contrast, Georgia is only 2-6-1 and didn’t cover just last week against Missouri at home.

The Rebels have been riding a powerful offense, scoring 38.8 points per game, the 13th-most in college football this season. That’s thanks to quarterback Jaxson Dart who has almost 2,500 passing yards on the season and 23 total touchdowns.

My issue with Ole Miss is a defense which is allowing over 365 yards per game this season against some mediocre competition. It did enough to beat LSU, 55-49 at home earlier this season, but have had some close calls along the way. In three of the last four weeks, wins against Arkansas, at Auburn, and against Texas A&M all came down to the wire. Each game the Rebels won by a touchdown or less.

I think Georgia’s defense is at least on par with Alabama’s, and the Crimson Tide held Ole Miss to just 10 points in Tuscaloosa earlier this season. The final in that one was 24-10 after Alabama pulled away in the second half. I could see a very similar trajectory in this game under the lights in Athens this weekend. I’ll be laying the Dawgs on Saturday -10.5.

USC Trojans vs. No. 6 Oregon Ducks

  • Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
  • TV: FOX
  • Location: Eugene, OR
  • Weather: 48 degrees, cloudy
  • DraftKings OddsORE -15.0, O/U: 73.5, ML: USC +575, ORE -850
  • Best Bet (16-13-2): ORE -15

USC is in shambles right now. In the last week, we have seen Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams crying in his mother’s arms on the sideline and the program firing their defensive coordinator after allowing 436 yards per game through the first nine games. Now, one of the worst defenses in college football has no direction, essentially no chance to play for a Pac-12 championship, and a new leader trying to implement new things.

The Trojans are taking that into Eugene, Oregon to face the second-best offense in college football in terms of offensive output. The Ducks have slaughtered bad defenses all season long; in the last two weeks, they dropped 63 points against Cal (who has a better-ranked defense than USC) and another 35 against Utah in Salt Lake City (who has a Top-15 defense).

Along with Oregon -15, I will also be betting just about every under prop for Caleb Williams once they are posted. Williams has had a really rough time against good defenses in his career. Excluding last week’s performance against Washington (whose defense is also atrocious), Williams has completed 51 percent of his passes, barely over 210 yards, and thrown just six touchdowns to six interceptions against top-25 opponents. That goes back to games more recently to games against Notre Dame and three times against Utah.

Oregon’s defense this season is right among the top 25 in the country and I think that in Eugene they are going to shut Williams down. USC has very little to play for while the Ducks want to show the College Football Playoff committee that they are worthy of a spot int he top four. This one could get really ugly.

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