Penn State takes on Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl — a College Football Playoff semifinal game — on Thursday, Jan. 9.
A rock fight in Magic City, you say? Sign us up. How can we attack a defensive slugfest in the 305? With an interception player prop and an anytime touchdown, of course. After all, this is the perfect opportunity to fire on some player props.
That means we’re targeting the quarterback and running back on the underdog.
Read on for our top college football player props in the Penn State vs. Notre Dame Orange Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 9.
That gives us a perfect opportunity to fire on some player props.
College Football Player Props, Picks
- Drew Allar 2+ Interceptions (+450)
- Kaytron Allen Anytime TD (+120)
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Penn State has been waiting a long time for Drew Allar to arrive. Some of that is on Allar’s shoulders, but some of it lies at the feet of James Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
The inflection point, in terms of trust or willingness to let Allar spin it, came against Ohio State.
Despite playing at home with an early lead, Allar was timid, and Kotelnicki played things safe in the second half. Allar finished with just 20 attempts against the Buckeyes, and there were rumblings that Allar may have peaked and that he wasn’t the right fit in Kotelnicki’s system to get Penn State over the hump.
But from that moment on, it became clear that if Penn State wanted to raise its ceiling, Kotelnicki would need to give Allar the opportunity to win games.
When the Nittany Lions got back into a big spot — against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game — the governor was removed from the Penn State offense.
Allar spun it 39 times in that game. He completed 20 of those passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
They were right there late against the Ducks but fell short. All of that usage also translated to two interceptions, which brings me to this player prop.
Notre Dame’s pass defense is either No. 1 or No. 1A in college football right now. Al Golden’s defense ranks first in Passing Success Rate allowed, second in coverage and sixth in big-play avoidance.
Despite the loss of cornerback Benjamin Morrison, a future first-round pick in the NFL Draft, the Irish are absolutely clamping down on receivers. And as we know, Penn State’s receiver corps, outside of Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren, leaves a lot to be desired.
I don’t think that Allar will get to 35 or 40 attempts as he did against Oregon, but he’ll have the chance to be the difference-maker here — especially if ND walks more defenders into the box to stop the resurgent Penn State rushing attack.
The reason why the odds are so lucrative here is that many of Allar’s stats would indicate he’s turnover-adverse. He has just seven turnover-worthy throws all season long.
But a big reason for that has been this system and a super manageable schedule that included the likes of Kent State, Maryland, Purdue and UCLA.
In the biggest game of his career, I anticipate the entire Allar experience — the good (Big-Time Throws), the bad (questionable sacks) and the ugly (Turnover-Worthy Plays).
At 9-2, with this secondary, I like my chances of those iffy throws becoming interceptions down in South Beach.
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By Doug Ziefel
The Penn State Nittany Lions have one of the country’s best dynamic duos at tailback.
For the majority of the season, Nicholas Singleton has led the way on the ground and through the air, but down the stretch, we’ve seen Kaytron Allen carve a more significant role in the offense.
Over the last four games, Allen has led the way in terms of carries, averaging 14 to Singleton’s 12.
This shift has also led to more valuable carries for Allen, as he’s recorded seven red-zone rush attempts to Singleton’s eight in that same span — but five of Singleton’s eight red-zone carries came in one game against Maryland.
It’s clear that Allen is well involved down on the goal line, as he should be since he’s the more bruising back. He has scored in 9-of-15 games, which means his odds of finding pay dirt in this matchup should be higher regardless of the matchup.
Take the value here at any plus-money price, as the Nittany Lions should pound the ball into the end zone with Allen against the Fighting Irish.
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