The 2009 Rose Bowl today features the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. No. 5 USC Trojans. Sportsbook.com has the current point spread showing the USC Trojans -9 point favorites against Penn State.
“The bookies do not give Penn State a chance in this classic Rose Bowl match-up today,” stated Point-Spreads.com Publisher Thomas Jensen. “I think Paterno’s crew will stick it to USC and will either win outright or keep it close. I like the the odds on the money line underdog and the 9 points but recommend bettors wait to put this wager in until closer to game time as the last minute betting public will probably poor money on USC moving the line up to 10 points again.”
The opening line was originally –10 points but Sportsbook.com is seeing a small lean to the underdog to cover the points, with 54% of the action on the underdog Penn State Nittany Lions.
“The Granddaddy of them All” will feature a Pac-10 power house against the Big Ten Champions as well as pit two of the best head coaches in college football against one another; USC’s Pete Carroll and the ageless wonder, Penn State’s Joe Paterno.
As far as recent head to head match-ups go, the two are as even as can be, going 1-1 straight up and against the spread in two match-ups since 1996. USC has feasted on Big Ten competition with a 9-1 record SU and ATS in the last 10 games vs. that conference, which includes an eight-game winning streak both SU and ATS.
Bet on the 2009 Rose Bowl at Sportsbook.com. The Nittany Lions haven’t played the Pac-10 nearly as much but are still profitable at 3-1 SU and ATS, including a 24-7 SU and ATS win over USC in 1996 where PSU was listed at -2.5. The Trojans have been near perfect during bowl season going 6-1 SU and ATS in its last seven January games and have taken four-straight Overs in that time as well. Penn State isn’t too shabby in bowl action either, going 5-2 SU and 4-2-1 ATS in its last seven bowl games.
Get the latest Rose Bowl betting odds on Penn State vs USC here.
