Penn State, losers of four straight, host Purdue on BTN coming off a bye

Two 3-4 teams meet at Beaver Stadium on Halloween. Penn State hosts Purdue at 4:15 p.m. ET Saturday on Big Ten Network, and streaming is available through Fubo and DIRECTV, Sportsnet Pittsburgh reported. Both teams had last week off. One of them will leave the weekend back at .500, and the other will sit two games under with five left to play.

The pressure is mostly on Matt Campbell's first Penn State team. The Nittany Lions outscored Marshall, Temple and Buffalo 127-22 to open the season, then lost four straight Big Ten games. Wide receiver Chase Sowell kept the offense going in the 21-18 loss at Michigan on Oct. 17 with 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, according to Sportsnet Pittsburgh. Purdue dropped a 38-26 home game to Washington on Oct. 16 and has had two weeks to get ready.

The main injury question for Penn State is Koby Howard. At his Tuesday press conference, published by Penn State Athletics, Campbell said Howard was still questionable but was back on the practice field, and he described the recovery as "progressing in a really positive way." Campbell said Brett Eskildsen, who looked banged up late at Michigan, is fully ready. He also said the bye gave him time to go through the film with quarterback Rocco Becht on decision-making and accuracy, and to work on a pass rush that hasn't created much pressure.

What it means for Saturday

The season numbers point to different kinds of teams. Penn State has allowed 18.9 points per game, but in the four conference losses it has scored just 18.5 per game. Three of those four losses came by a single score: 24-20 to Wisconsin, 31-23 to No. 19 USC and the three-point loss in Ann Arbor. Purdue plays higher-scoring games. The Boilermakers average 31.3 points and allow 32.3. They lost by two to Wake Forest and gave up 52 at UCLA and 49 to No. 3 Notre Dame, but they won two of their last three, at Illinois and at home against Minnesota, before the Washington loss.

The market still sees a gap between the two. On this site's board, which covers 12 venues, Penn State is favored at -355 on the moneyline on Novig. Purdue is +344 there, and FanDuel has the best Purdue price at +350. The spread is Penn State -10.5. Novig prices the Nittany Lions at +102 at that number and Purdue at -104, and FanDuel's -102 is the best Purdue price on the same line. BetMGM is the outlier at Penn State -10, priced at -112. The total sits at 54.5 on Novig, with the over at -106 and the under at +104. Pinnacle is a half-point lower at 54. That total is below what the two offenses have averaged combined this season. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.6% to 6.0% on the moneyline and up to 6.8% on the total, so the venues disagree by about a half-point on the numbers and by a few cents on the prices.

Penn State goes to Washington after this game and then closes with Minnesota, Rutgers and Maryland. Getting to a bowl will likely depend on Saturday.