Sean's VERY EARLY CFB HIGH NOON TOTAL DOMINATOR!

My selection is on the 'under' between Central Michigan and Penn State at 12 noon et on Saturday.

We missed with the 'under' in Central Michigan's wild season-opening 58-44 loss at Oklahoma State but I did figure at that time that we would go back to the well with another 'under' play involving the Chippewas at some point. This looks like the right spot as the Chips head back on the road to face an undefeated Penn State squad that is coming off a key blowout win at Auburn last week. It generally takes two teams to topple a total in this range and I'm not convinced the Chips will do their part in this spot. Central Michigan did roll to a 41-0 win over FCS squad Bucknell last week but it's worth noting that it didn't reach the end zone until there were less than five minutes remaining in the first half in that game. They 'only' led 20-0 through three quarters before Bucknell eventually wore down defensively. I certainly don't expect CMU to wear down an elite Penn State defense here. Note that two games back, CMU took 10 minutes to score a touchdown against South Alabama and then didn't reach the end zone again until more than six minutes into the third quarter. The Chips will simply be looking to possess the football for extended stretches and effectively shorten this game to give themselves any sort of chance after that ugly loss against a similarly tough opponent, Oklahoma State, earlier this month. Penn State has been better than advertised offensively through three games although I do think last week's 41-12 result was a little deceiving (we missed with the 'under' in that game). The Nittany Lions scored just two first half touchdowns in that game, including one less than two minutes before halftime. It was only in the second half where Auburn had a number of defensive miscues and lacked concentration and execution in yielding 27 Nittany Lions points. Here, I expect to see Penn State 'manage' this game (note that in a previous game against another MAC opponent, Ohio, the Nittany Lions ceased scoring from a minute or so into the fourth quarter on in a 46-10 victory). Penn State's Big Ten schedule picks back up again next week and I'm sure it would like to make this tune-up contest as uneventful as possible. Take the under (8*).