Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 10/11/2025 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025

Location: Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Nittany Lions (-21.5)

Total/Over-Under: 48.5

Beaver Stadium is the location where the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-2) will try to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (3-2) on Saturday, October 11, 2025. Northwestern opens this contest as 21.5-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under is set at 48.5.

The Northwestern Wildcats come into this game with a record of 3-2 for this year. In their last matchup, the Wildcats played the UL Monroe Warhawks and walked away with a win by a score of 42-7. The Northwestern Wildcats ended up running the ball 38 times and amassed 246 yds, which earned them an average of 6.5 yds per attempt. On the day, they had 71 plays which gave them a total of 515 yards. Northwestern allowed 12 completions on 23 attempts for 186 yds, and a completion rate of 52.2%. In the running game, the Wildcats conceded 87 yards on 30 tries, which calculates to 2.9 yards per rush surrendered.

The Wildcats have earned 1,905 total yards for the year. In terms of scoring touchdowns, Northwestern has amassed 7 touchdowns through the air and 7 touchdowns via the ground. They have turned the ball over 8 times. Northwestern has accumulated 105 first downs offensively, and they have been called for 22 infractions for 169 yards. As a unit they hold an average of 196.0 yards rushing ranking them 35th in D-1. Regarding getting in the endzone, the Northwestern Wildcats have an average of 23.6 points per game.

The Wildcats sit in 27th in D-1 regarding the opposition scoring, conceding 17.0 PPG. They are allowing 4.8 yards per attempt on the ground and 146.6 rushing yards per game for the campaign. In total, they have given up 733 yards on the ground through 5 contests. When talking about yards via the pass, the Wildcats are allowing 825 yards which has them ranked 20th in Division 1. They have yielded 165.0 yards per contest via the pass as well as conceding a completion percentage of 58.8%. For the season, they are giving up 311.6 yards per outing which ranks them 31st in the country. They have conceded 5 touchdowns via the pass and 4 touchdowns running the ball.

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The Nittany Lions come into this matchup with a record of 3-2 for this season. When they last played, the Nittany Lions walked away with a loss by a score of 42-37 when they played the UCLA Bruins. Penn State rushed the ball for 5.1 yards per attempt, finishing with 157 yards on 31 carries. The Nittany Lions finished the contest with a total of 357 yds on 57 plays (6.3 yds per play). The Nittany Lions pass defense gave up a completion rate of 70.8%, surrendering 166 yds on 17 out of 24 passing. Penn State surrendered 53 rushing attempts for 269 yds (5.1 yds per carry).

The Penn State Nittany Lions average 389.0 yards/game, which is good for 70th in college football. The Penn State offense has 133 yds of penalties on 19 infractions, which ranks 129th in D-1 in terms of making mistakes. They maintain an average of 175.4 run yards per game and have toted the ball for 877 yards for the year. They have tossed 2 interceptions while letting opponents recover 1 fumble and they have obtained 109 first downs. In relation to putting points on the board, the Nittany Lions currently sit 20th in the nation averaging 38.6 points per contest. During the season to this point, the Nittany Lions have earned 1,068 yards via the pass in addition to an average of 213.6 passing yards per game, which has them ranked 83rd in the nation.

The Nittany Lions are relinquishing 17.8 points per game, which puts them 30th in the country. Penn State has surrendered a total of 747 yards via the ground game (149.4 yards per contest) as well as 4 touchdowns via the rush on the year. They have conceded 7 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 156.8 yards per game, ranking them 16th in Division 1. The Nittany Lions defense has been on the field for 342 plays, which is 70th in D-1. They have tallied 3 fumbles and 4 picks on the campaign. Over the course of the season, they have surrendered 89 points.

Who will win tonight's Wildcats/Nittany Lions college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Nittany Lions -21.5

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