What is the Penn State-Indiana spread? Lions now face tricky path to CFP

Penn State news, notes, and updates for Oct. 23 include the opening point spread for the Lions’ meeting with Indiana, the team’s path to the College Football Playoff after losing to Ohio State, and more.

It’s time to dive into Monday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.

Penn State tweets of the day

We start with the opening odds for this weekend’s Big Ten East division matchup between the Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on CBS. A broadcast crew is not yet out for the Beaver Stadium showdown. Indiana, which is coached by Tom Allen, is 2-5 and fresh off a double-digit defeat against Rutgers. As such, Penn State is a double-digit favorite for the seventh time in eight games. The Lions are a 30.5-point favorite. And, the betting total over/under is 44.5 points. It suggests a roughly 37-7 Lions triumph.

In other news, ESPN’s national college football reporter Heather Dinich ranks Penn State sixth out of seven one-loss teams who could still make the College Football Playoff. The team’s tricky path to qualify for the four-team postseason event for the first time since its inception is the biggest reason why.

“So many things,” Dinich writes in response to what Penn State must do to make the CFP.

“Drastic improvement on offense, immediately. Running the table, including beating Michigan at home. Other contenders losing, including Ohio State twice because the Buckeyes will win the head-to-head tiebreaker if they both finish with one loss. Winning the Big Ten. Then hoping a win against Michigan and beating … Iowa? … in the Big Ten championship are enough to prove they are one of the four best teams in the country.”