College Football Playoff Same Game Parlay: SMU vs. Penn State (Saturday)
The Penn State Nittany Lions and SMU Mustangs meet in the second of four College Football Playoff (CFP) first-round games at noon E.T. on Saturday. This is the third meeting between these schools in these program’s histories, and their second in a postseason game (they tied 13-13 in the 1948 Cotton Bowl).
Both teams were relegated to first-round games instead of byes when they lost their respective conference championship games. But each was given what was considered a friendly path with the winner matching up against Boise State in the next round.
Read on for our best same-game parlay (SGP) for Saturday’s College Football Playoff matchup between SMU and Penn State.
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Let’s dive into our top college football SMU vs. Penn State same-game parlay for this weekend’s College Football Playoff game.
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Leg 1: Penn State -8.5 (-112)
SMU looked dead in the water against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game before a frantic fourth-quarter comeback made the score respectable. The Mustangs trailed by 17 points after halftime and the third quarter, which immediately made those who were down on the ACC this year wonder just how good SMU was.
In hindsight, the Mustangs’ schedule was not as much of a grind as one would have thought they would face in their first year in the ACC. SMU played six of the bottom eight teams in the conference and was held to a season-low 15 points in a loss to a BYU team that was its only opponent to finish ranked in the final CFP rankings.
Happy Valley is always a tough place to play, and the frigid temperatures should play into Penn State’s hands as the more physical running team.
Leg 2: Kevin Jennings Over 18.5 Rushing Yards (-114)
SMU will want to establish a solid running game, especially utilizing the legs of Brashard Smith. Smith is an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America Second-Team and All-ACC first-team selection, who ran for 1,270 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns this season.
The issue for Smith is that SMU ranks 90th in line yards, so it could be tough sledding against a stout Penn State front that allows the ninth-fewest rushing yards per game.
If Smith keeps getting bottled up at the line of scrimmage, look for SMU to utilize quarterback Kevin Jennings’ speed on the outside on run-pass option (RPO) plays. Jennings has eclipsed this projected total in back-to-back games and seven of his 13 games this year. His 10 carries for 35 yards in a game the team trailed most of the way against Clemson bodes well for Jennings’ rushing total if a similar game script plays out.
Leg 3: Nicholas Singleton Anytime Touchdown Scorer (-210)
Nicholas Singleton has the most expensive anytime touchdown odds of any player in the game. While I would not spend up for that as an individual play, it makes for a good leg of a big same-game parlay.
Singleton has at least one touchdown in four consecutive games, and five total in that span. He is coming off a 43-yard receiving performance against Oregon. That was not only his second-highest receiving yard output of the season but he also scored his fifth receiving touchdown. The versatility he provides both in the running game and passing game makes him a viable option to continue his scoring streak.
Leg 4: Penn State First-Half Moneyline (-200)
Penn State has -315 Moneyline odds to win outright, so its -200 odds to win the first half are a great value in comparison. The Nittany Lions have won 27 straight games against non-conference opponents at Beaver Stadium, so I do not believe they are in serious jeopardy of losing outright.
The caveat for this wager is that this parlay would lose even if the Nittany Lions go into the half tied with the Mustangs, as this play is part of a three-way wager. However, if we are backing Penn State to cover the game spread anyway, adding this play as a fourth leg of the parlay boosts the same-game parlay odds from +382 to a more enticing +443.
Parlay Odds (+443)
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.