Editor's note: Brian Edwards is No. 2 on VI in guaranteed NCAAFB picks (23-13, 64%, +894!) after cashing another winner on the Boise St.-La. Tech 'over' last night. Don't miss out on his pay-if-it-wins-only selection for tonight!

When breaking down the Big Ten this past summer, most pundits pointed to this game as the likely decider of the conference champion. But as we move into November, Iowa owns sole possession of first place with a one-game lead over both the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions.

The Hawkeyes also have the tiebreaker edge on PSU by virtue of their 21-10 win in Happy Valley back on Sep. 26. Therefore, Joe Paterno’s squad needs to win out and hope that Iowa loses two of its three remaining games. Meanwhile, Jim Tressel’s team is in the same position as PSU, but it can hand-deliver one of Iowa’s defeats when they collide at The Horseshoe next weekend.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Penn St. (8-1 straight up, 4-4 against the spread) as a four-point favorite with a total of 40. As of Friday night, most books had the Lions as 4 ½-point favorites with a 39-point tally. Gamblers can back the Buckeyes to win outright for a plus-170 return (risk $100 to win $170).

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Since losing to Iowa, Penn St. hasn’t lost and has a big-time money maker for bettors. The Nittany Lions have won five straight, cashing tickets at a 4-0 clip since their victory over Eastern Illinois was a non-lined affair.

Paterno’s bunch went to Evanston last week and found itself trailing Northwestern 13-10 at halftime. Even at the start of the fourth quarter, the Lions were locked up in a 13-13 tie. But they erupted in the final stanza, scoring 21 unanswered points to capture a 34-13 victory and cover the number as 17 ½-point road ‘chalk.’

Junior RB Evan Royster ran for 115 yards and one touchdown on just 15 carries. His 69-yard TD scamper put the game on ice. Senior QB Daryll Clark connected on 22-of-31 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown. Clark also scored on a two-yard TD run.

For the season, Clark has completed 63.1 percent of his throws for 2,158 yards with an 18/7 touchdown-interception ratio. Derek Moye has emerged as Clark’s favorite target during his sophomore campaign. Moye has 39 receptions for 648 yards and five TDs.

Royster might be able to duplicate his numbers from 2008 (1,236 rushing yards, 12 TDs). With three games left, Royster has 859 rushing yards and five TDs. He averages 5.9 yards per carry.

Ohio State (7-2 SU, 7-2 ATS) hasn’t lost three games during the regular season since 2004, so a loss in this spot would represent an extremely mediocre season compared to recent years. A win, however, could right the ship and remedy (to some extent) the school’s disastrous results in “big games” over the last four years.

For our purposes, it hasn’t been a down year in Columbus. The Bucks’ only non-covers came in the opener, a 31-27 win over Navy as double-digit ‘chalk,’ and a 26-18 loss at Purdue on Oct. 17.

We should also mention that Tressel’s troops have covered the number in each of their last two “big games.” I’m talking about last year’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Texas by a 24-21 count when OSU was catching 8 ½ points, in addition to an 18-15 home loss to USC as a seven-point underdog earlier this year.

This is only the Bucks’ third true road game of the year. They were beaten at Purdue as 14-point favorites, but they took the cash in a 33-14 win at Indiana as 18-point road favorites.

Terrelle Pryor, OSU’s starting QB as a true sophomore, hasn’t lived up to the hype. He has completed just 54.6 percent of his passes for 1,543 yards with a 13/9 TD-INT ratio. Pryor also has a team-high 554 rushing yards and six TDs.

Nobody is questioning Pryor’s athleticism. He can scramble with the best of them, but his passing accuracy is a major question mark. After the loss to Purdue that stemmed from a pair of Pryor interceptions, there was some speculation that he might need to change positions for 2010.

Since the loss in West Lafayette, Ohio St. has won back-to-back games, thumping Minnesota 38-7 as a 16-point home favorite before trashing New Mexico St. 45-0 last week.

As a home favorite this season, PSU owns an abysmal 1-4 spread record. However, we should note that the Nittany Lions are 5-1 SU in Happy Valley, and they were favored by 17 or more in four of their five lined games at home.

Ohio St. hasn’t been a road underdog yet this year. During Tressel’s nine-year tenure, the Bucks are 3-4 ATS in seven games as road ‘dogs.

The ‘under’ is 6-1-1 overall for PSU, 5-0 in its home contests. The ‘under’ is 4-1-1 overall for the Bucks with their only true road game with a total ending in a push.

ABC will provide the telecast for this Big Ten showdown at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--The home team is 10-1 ATS in the last 11 Clemson-FSU head-to-head meetings.

--Kansas has lost five in a row ATS going into Saturday’s game at Kansas St. as a three-point road favorite.

--I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on an Alabama play (minus 7 ½) this week. With that said, I do think Nick Saban’s squad is in a good teaser situation, needing to beat LSU at home by just two points. I only do teasers if I can find a pair of home teams favored by 6-8 points. N.C. St. could be that team to tease with the Crimson Tide.

--FSU has been atrocious when favored this season, compiling a 1-4 SU record and 0-5 ATS mark. On the flip side, the Seminoles are perfect as underdogs, winning outright at BYU (54-28) and at North Carolina (30-27). They are nine-point ‘dogs Saturday night at Clemson. I’ve considered adding FSU to my pick pack and still might. My lean is certainly toward Bobby Bowden’s squad. It would be vintage Clemson to lose outright after winning three straight and looking great in doing so. Seriously, has any school over the last decade been more schizophrenic than Clemson? The ‘Noles are as generous as plus-300 on the money line at a few books.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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