Penn State Nittany Lions Big 10 Conference Preview 2008 College Football Predictions: There’s no question that even at age 81, Penn State’s head coach Joe Paterno can still coach at this level. The Hall of Fame legend is still going strong after so many years: “I like what I’m doing, I’m having fun, I enjoy it.” At SportsBook.com Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions betting odds to win the BCS National Championship game in 2009 are 50 - 1.

This upcoming season, coach Paterno will have a very tough schedule. Here are some dates to highlight on Penn State’s 2008 calendar: September 27th vs. Illinois, October 4th at Perdue, October 11th at Wisconsin, October 18th vs. Michigan, October 25th at Ohio State, and November 8th at Iowa.

Last season, Paterno’s bunch finished the season with an overall mark of 9-4. The good news is that, even when they lost, they always gave themselves a chance to win. 3 out of their 4 losses were within a touchdown, and the one loss that exceeded that was against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Penn State also went 4-4 against teams within the tough Big 10 Conference. The betting odds for the Penn State Nittany Lions to win the Big 10 Conference in 2008 are fourth best: 5 - 1.

In 2008, coach Paterno will have to decide what type of offense he would like to run depending on who starts at QB. Right now, the battle for that position is between Daryll Clark (senior) and Pat Devlin (sophomore). The betting odds (ML) that Penn State wins OVER 9 games in the upcoming 2008 season is +110.

This season, the defensive line will dominate opposing offenses, as they are excellent at getting into the backfield and to the passer. Last season, (DE) Maurice Evans (Jr.) led the team in tackles, as he recorded an impressive to total of 12.5 sacks. Penn State's betting odds (ML) that they will win UNDER 9 games in the 2008 season is -140.

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