A glut of marquee match-ups greets the college football world in the second week of the season; one of the games that stand out is Alabama vs. Penn State. <\/p>\n
#3 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #23 Penn State Nittany Lions<\/strong> This particular game is savory thanks to the rich tradition of these two classically prestigious schools \u2013 both currently ranked in the Top 25.<\/p>\n That the Tide, one of the nation\u2019s elite football teams, travels to Happy Valley to play in perhaps the craziest venue in America doesn\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n Despite the raucous home advantage for Penn State, the edge is with Alabama mainly due to the teams\u2019 situations under center. The Lions are still using a platoon system at quarterback between sophomore Rob Bolden and junior Matt McGloin. Both pivots had several attempts in a Week One drubbing of Indiana State and legendary coach Joe Paterno doesn\u2019t seem to lean one way or the other. Fellow QB Kevin Newsome, a highly-touted recruit buried on the Penn State depth chart, has opted to transfer for this reason.<\/p>\n Alabama also has a QB new to the starting gig in sophomore A.J. McCarron, but he plays in a system where he is not asked to do too much thanks to stud RB Trent Richardson, \u2019Bama\u2019s mammoth offensive line and a defense that is perhaps second to none. McCarron had 226 yards, a TD and a couple INTs in an easy opening week win versus Kent State.<\/p>\n This is Alabama\u2019s only serious test before it gets into a healthy SEC schedule; the Tide must expect a much livelier battle than their flaccid MAC opponent last week. Penn State RB Silas Redd had a great day vs. ISU last week and the Lions will have confidence after an easy 41-7 win. The team will have plenty of wind in its sails with the notable home-field advantage and the Lions have an excellent receiving tandem (Derek Moye, Justin Brown) and some strong defenders, especially in the back seven. Yet, the Lions still must be apprehensive about playing arguably the best team in the FBS. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n Richardson, and several players on Alabama\u2019s defense, could play \u2013 and perhaps start in some cases \u2013 in the NFL right now. Tide head coach Nick Saban is well-known for grooming and recruiting the elite talent in the football world and the Tide never really disappointed until an embarrassing comeback win by bitter rival Auburn late last season. That embarrassment is probably still fresh in the mouths of Alabama\u2019s returning players; it wouldn\u2019t be wise to think that \u2019Bama will lose its focus and get tripped up in a non-conference game. If Penn State plays a fantastic game and forces the young McCarron into errors, the Lions are certainly capable of pulling the upset, but the Tide \u201cD\u201d also has the ability to stymie Penn State\u2019s attack en route to an easy win for the visitors.<\/p>\n Another reason this is an intriguing game is because it pits one of the upper-middle players in the Big Ten against the SEC\u2019s elite program. Any non-conference game against two of the granddaddy conferences is sure to perk up the ears of college football fans. Despite the hoopla that is sure to accompany this game in Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon, conventional wisdom sees that Alabama should lean on its running game, mauling O-line and defense. Accordingly, the Tide should leave daunting Happy Valley with a road win and a 2-0 record.<\/p>\n Over is 8-1-1 in ALAB last 10 non-conference games. Score Prediction: Alabama 28, Penn State 14<\/strong> The CappersPicks.com college football weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly college football picks<\/a>, tips, betting advice, strategies, CFB gambling articles and more to help you become the best College football bettor on your block!!<\/p>\n The Alabama Crimson Tide vs Penn St. Nittany Lions will both be trying to pick up a win in Week 2 on Saturday when they battle at Beaver Stadium. Odds have the Tide listed as 10-point favorites the game\u2019s total is set at 42\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":26287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[28750,2857,52007,52008,1685,52006,2358,470,548,763,7260,51693,1337,34006],"class_list":["post-43035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ncaa-football","tag-28750","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-alabama-crimson-tide-vs-penn-st-nittany-lions","tag-alabama-vs-penn-st-free-pick","tag-college-football-spreads","tag-crimson-tide-vs-nittany-lions","tag-football-odds","tag-free-pick","tag-handicappers-predictions","tag-ncaa-football-betting","tag-penn-st-nittany-lions","tag-vegas-gambling-picks","tag-week-2","tag-week-2-free-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43043,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43035\/revisions\/43043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBeaver Stadium, State College PA
\nSaturday, Sept. 10, 3:35 pm EST
\nNCAA Odds from Bookmaker Sportsbook<\/strong><\/a>:
\nMoneyLine:\u00a0 Alabama -370, Penn St. +305
\nSpread: Alabama -10, Penn St. +10
\nOver\/Under: 42
\nGrab The In Depth ATS Matchup Report – Click Here!<\/a><\/p>\nTrends:<\/h3>\n
\nOver is 8-3-1 in ALAB last 12 games in September.
\nUnder is 7-1 in PENST last 8 non-conference games.
\nOver is 7-2 in PENST last 9 games overall.
\nPENST are 2-6 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.<\/p>\n
\nOver\/Under Prediction: 42<\/strong><\/p>\nClick here to CHECK OUT OUR CFB HANDICAPPERS PICKS for the 2011-2012 NCAA Football Season!<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"