UMass vs. Penn State Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 7

The Penn State Nittany Lions stayed put at No. 6 in the country during the bye last week and come into Week 7 well rested and at 5-0. Barring disaster, they’ll leave Week 7 still undefeated because they get a reprieve from Big 10 play with a matchup against the 1-6 UMass Minutemen.

UMass actually won its season opener but has lost six straight games since. This should be a nice tune-up for Penn State before facing Ohio State in Week 8, but could also be a trap game if James Franklin’s team looks ahead on the schedule. For a look around the schedule in Week 7, get the national perspective from BetSided college football betting expert Reed Wallach with his weekly column and preview.

When you’re betting this college football matchup, or any game on the Week 7 CFB slate, make sure to take advantage of this great promo from the PointsBet Sportsbook. Sign up below to receive up to $1,000 in second-chance bets. 

Now, here’s a look at the odds with Penn State as a big home favorite.

UMass vs. Penn State Odds, Spread and Total

Penn State vs. UMass Betting Trends

• Penn State is 5-0 ATS
• The OVER is 3-2 in Penn State games
• UMass is 3-4 ATS
• The OVER is 6-1 in UMass games

UMass vs. Penn State How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, October 14
• Time: 3:30 PM EST
• Venue: Beaver Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): BTN
• UMass Record: 1-6
• Penn State Record: 5-0

UMass vs. Penn State Key Players to Watch

UMass

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, RB: The Minutemen don’t have a lot going for them, but they do have a solid running back. Last week, Lynch-Adams went for 157 yards and a touchdown against Toledo on 20 carries, and for the season he is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He has scored six times and racked up 661 yards on the ground. 

Penn State

Drew Allar, QB: Allar was the story of the season in the first few weeks for Penn State, but lately he’s been a bit more of a question mark. He’s managed games well, completing 64.6% of his passes with 9 touchdowns and no interceptions, but he’s not pushing the ball downfield very much. Allar is averaging just 6.9 yards per attempt.

UMass vs. Penn State Prediction and Pick

This looks like a classic trap game on the schedule for Penn State. An absolute cupcake of an opponent, the week before the matchup that will make or break the season. Especially for a team that views itself as a college football playoff contender. That’s not to say that the Nittany Lions have any chance of losing this game, but they could potentially fail to cover for the first time this season. 

The thing about Penn State is that James Franklin knows the line and he loves to cover. He lets his backups gun for late touchdowns like Beau Pribula did against Northwestern two weeks ago. This team is also built to cover games like this with its stellar run game. 

Penn State is actually just 45th in total offense and 95th in yards per play, but the Nittany Lions are sixth in rush attempts and 26th in rushing offense. With Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, they can continue to put up points while they’re just salting away the clock. They can definitely do that this week because UMass is 132nd in yards per play and 133rd in yards per rush, allowing 5.9. 

Penn State won’t let the Minutemen score much if at all in this one. The Nittany Lions' real strength is on defense where they are No. 1 in the country in total yards and No. 2 in yards per play. The offense will have plenty of opportunities to extend its lead and cover this spread. Penn State has covered in 12 straight games, so I have to ride this streak to its end. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change