Despite all of the rioting, hypocrisy and stupidity that’s dominated the headlines over the last few days, there is still a football game scheduled to occur at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
In a match-up that has essentially become an afterthought, the Penn State Nittany Lions will host the Nebraska Cornhuskers with serious Big Ten championship implications for all involved.
So, how has the nightmarish sex scandal that rocked University Park impacted the game beyond the obvious? Well, it’s pretty much made the betting line for Saturday’s game nearly as volatile as the American stock market.
According to the New York Times, as of Tuesday, numerous bookmakers reported increased betting on the Huskers following Paterno’s dismissal from the program.
Originally, the Nittany Lions opened as 2.5-point underdogs for this weekend’s game, despite the fact that they were coming in ranked higher, with a better record and seemingly more momentum than their counterparts. Then, as the sex scandal began to progressively deepen and the more horrendous details began to leak out, more money reportedly began to be placed on Nebraska – which in turn caused the line to move to 3.5.
The same piece also noted that perhaps the disgusting nature of the allegations that have been levied against Penn State has deterred some of the folks that would have otherwise bet on the school.
Given the fact that the spectacle out in Paterno Land isn’t looking like it will die down any time soon, many expect that the odds will continue to shift further as more and more people try to get their bets in on Nebraska.
Still, a word of caution is being put out by the pros: you can’t predict how a team will respond to these types of circumstances. Will they ultimately rally, feeling as though the world is against them, and punish the Huskers for what they perceive to be unfair treatment? Or will Penn State collapse underneath the weight of everything they’ve gone through over the last few days?
Most are betting on the latter option.
As the sordid details of the vile transgressions that took place in Penn State continue to come to the forefront, it’s getting increasingly difficult to focus on the actual football that has to be played. Nevertheless, Saturday’s game is still on – and bets are still rolling in, just as they would under any other circumstances.
Nebraska vs. Penn State kicks off at 12:00 p.m. eastern time.