Re "ugly dog" ... OK. I was just going off the conversation. I consider an "ugly dog" to be one that is a huge underdog and suffers that fate because they've been terrible, and they're up against a respected opponent. I didn't see an "ugly dog" in the PSU v. USC matchup, since PSU is getting a ton of respect, straddling between being a very small dog to, now, a favorite, despite looking awful and going against a ranked squad. Happy for the clarification.
Re "homer bet" ... OK. Your analysis is much different than my own. I see being convinced enough at PSU's competitiveness in this game to wager on it as being the product of homerism by a PSU guy. Apparently it's just analysis I don't agree with at all.
Re the total ... I don't pay much mind to early lines ... I would only make wagers closer to game time, when as much information as possible has been gathered ... pretty sure I glanced at it and it was in the 52.5 range, and now it's ticked up to 54.5. I could be wrong on that, because I wasn't considering a wager when I first saw the alleged 52.5 number. 54.5 is pushing my comfort level, given just how absolutely awful PSU has been, offensively, over the last 2 weeks against Big Ten comp ... and not great Big Ten comp. If I was convinced they could even be mediocre, that 54.5 line is a gimme. The killer there is that Wisky focused on stopping the pass, and the running game couldn't really take advantage, and NW focused on stopping the running game and Becht couldn't take advantage. There's no clear path forward. Right now, I could picture a 40-17 type of whooping, and that's too close to the line to make that bet. As I said earlier, I'm most confident in an alt o/u ... a 47.5, perhaps ... and then parlaying it with some other alt o/u's, if I find some I'm comfortable with, to boost the odds to make it a worthwhile investment.