Balanced Buckeyes head to Penn St.
Keys for Ohio State
Seek offensive balance: Ohio State goes into every game looking to reach 250 yards each rushing and passing. In the opening romp against Nebraska the Buckeyes had 276 yards passing and 215 rushing, but their ground game was rarely in sync. Quarterback Justin Fields had the most carries (15) and yards (54), and it certainly wasn’t by design to have the QB take so many hits. Both starter Master Teague and transfer Trey Sermon struggled on short-yardage runs, and although Teague scored twice, the pair combined to average only 3.9 yards on 23 carries.
Tighten the defense: The Buckeyes’ defense this season is missing three players from last year who were first-round NFL draft choices, as well as less-heralded but key players along the defensive line. They will have to adjust quickly to become a unit as disruptive as the 2019 defense.
Keys for Penn State
Clean up the mess: Between physical and mental mistakes, Penn State all but handed Indiana a 36-35 overtime win last week in the biggest upset nationally. The Nittany Lions suffered two interceptions, a lost fumble, three missed field goals, 10 penalties, a muffed punt and a fumbled kickoff return. Worse, perhaps, Penn State RB Devyn Ford accepted Indiana’s invitation to score unmolested on a 14-yard TD run late in regulation with the Hoosiers trailing 21-20 and possessing only one timeout. Ford’s TD gave IU the one thing it needed, a chance.
Coach James Franklin and his team no doubt were kicking themselves after dominating the Hoosiers and leaving with a loss, one sealed by a questionable call on a replay of the winning two-point conversion. But the Lions need to get back on the horse, mentally and physically. They have the Big
Ten’s most talented team coming and no crowd to make an impact.
Make Clifford a dual threat: Quarterback Sean Clifford had an uneven game against Indiana, but his 238 passing yards and 119 rushing yards suggest he could be the key player for the Nittany Lions against Ohio State. In the Buckeyes’ past two games, they have allowed 107 yards rushing to Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence in the Fiesta Bowl and a combined 164 yards to Nebraska quarterbacks Luke McCaffrey and Adrian Martinez last week.
Prediction
Ohio State 42, Penn State 28: The Buckeyes know to expect a demanding test from the Nittany Lions, especially in Happy Valley, but the lack of home- crowd intimidation should allow OSU to win by a double- digit margin for the 14th consecutive time against conference competition.