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Penn State opens as favorite over Michigan State in Black Friday matchup at Ford Field

Penn State opens as a double-digit favorite over the Spartans several months away from their meeting in at Ford Field the day after Thanksgiving.

Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton is lifted by offensive lineman Juice Scruggs after scoring a touchdown against Michigan State on Nov. 26, 2022.
Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton is lifted by offensive lineman Juice Scruggs after scoring a touchdown against Michigan State on Nov. 26, 2022.Read moreBarry Reeger / AP

In case you haven’t heard, Penn State and Michigan State will be playing in prime time when the two schools meet on Black Friday this November.

The game, slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and airing on NBC, will take place at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. It’ll be the Spartan’s first game at Ford Field since 2010, when they defeated Florida Atlantic, 30-17.

One sportsbook has already released betting odds for the matchup, slated for Nov. 24. The odds will surely change as we get a better idea of what each program will look like ahead of the season starting, but early returns have the Nittany Lions as a big favorite to take down the Spartans.

» READ MORE: Penn State will play Michigan State in football on Black Friday in Detroit

Penn State vs Michigan State odds (via DraftKings)

  1. Spread line: Penn State -11.5

Ahead of last season’s matchup in late November, the Nittany Lions were nearly 20-point favorites when the Spartans visited Happy Valley. This time around, Penn State sit as an 11.5-point favorite ahead of this matchup on DraftKings. None of the other major sportsbooks (Caesars, FanDuel, BetMGM) have early lines released for this game.

Michigan State is sandwiched at the end of a brutal backloaded schedule for the Nittany Lions, when travel to Columbus to face Ohio State in late October and host Michigan in mid-November, two weeks before this matchup. With a new Penn State quarterback in the fold in expected starter Drew Allar, this spread-line could look a whole lot different when these two teams kick it off in Detroit.

College football national title odds (via FanDuel)

The usual suspects sit atop of the odds boards at FanDuel to win the college football national championship, led by the defending champ, Georgia, at +220. After the top, there’s a decent-sized gap between Georgia and the next two teams, Alabama and Ohio State, both valued at 6/1 to win it all.

You don’t have to go too far down to find Penn State, which is tied for the eighth-best odds at 20/1 with Clemson. Here’s a look at the championship odds, listing teams with 30/1 odds or better.

  1. Georgia: +220

  2. Alabama: +600

  3. Ohio State: +600

  4. Michigan: +1000

  5. USC: +1600

  6. LSU: +1600

  7. Florida State: +1800

  8. Clemson: +2000

  9. Penn State: +2000

  10. Texas: +2500

  11. Tennessee: +3000

  12. Notre Dame: +3000

  13. Oregon: +3000

  14. Washington: +3000