The Penn State Nittany Lions are looking like one of the best teams this season in the Big Ten Conference while the Northwestern Wildcats are arguably one of the worst teams in the conference this season despite a record of 2-2. Will the Nittany Lions win in a rout when they travel to take on the Wildcats in week 5 of the college football season or will the Wildcats keep the game closer than expected? Let’s take a deeper dive into how these teams are performing this season.

The Penn State Nittany Lions enter this game ranked 6^th in the AP Poll and 7^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 4-0 following a 31-0 win at home against the Iowa Hawkeyes while covering the 14-point spread as a home favorite in week 4 of the college football season. Penn State scored 31 points while compiling a total of 397 total yards offensively which included 182 passing yards and 215 rushing yards while shutting out the Hawkeyes and allowing a total of 76 total yards defensively which included 56 passing yards and 20 rushing yards. Drew Allar led the team in passing, completing 25 of 37 attempts for 166 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 22 yards. Kaytron Allen led the team in rushing with 21 carries for 72 yards adding three receptions for eight yards. KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the team in receiving, catching eight of 11 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Northwestern enters this game with a record of 2-2 following a 37-34 overtime win at home against the Minnesota Golden Gophers while covering the 11.5-point spread as a home underdog by winning the game outright in week 4 of the college football season. The Wildcats scored 37 points while compiling a total of 492 total yards offensively which included 400 passing yards and 92 rushing yards while allowing 34 points and 397 total yards defensively which included 153 passing yards and 244 rushing yards. Ben Bryant led the team in passing, completing 33 of 49 attempts for 396 yards and four touchdowns. Cam Porter led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions for five yards. Bryce Kirtz led the team in receiving, catching 10 of 12 targets for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

BookMaker has the Penn State Nittany Lions listed as 27-point favorites at home on the road against the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday afternoon in week 5 of the college football season. Penn State has won eight of the last ten and two of the last three matchups while going 6-4 ATS in the last ten games in the series. Penn State is 4-0 ATS overall, 1-0 ATS on the road, 4-0 ATS as a favorite, and 2-0 ATS in conference games this season while the Northwestern Wildcats are 2-2 ATS overall, 2-0 ATS at home, 1-2 ATS as an underdog, and 1-1 ATS in conference games this season.

Penn State is the superior team in terms of coaching and talent this season and has been the better team in the series, winning eight of the last ten matchups. The Nittany Lions are 6-4 ATS in the last ten games in the series. As a result, I am taking the Penn State Nittany Lions -27 on the road against the Northwestern Wildcats in week 5 of the college football season on BookMaker.