Lions confident they can hang with No. 2 Buckeyes

STATE COLLEGE » Ohio State coaches and players are plenty familiar with the difficult environment that awaits them in Happy Valley.

The No. 2 Buckeyes (60, 3-0 Big Ten) survived against Wisconsin in a hostile, raucous atmosphere last week, similar to the one they’ll face in their third straight road game against Penn State (4-2, 2-1), where Ohio State will have to deal with more than 100,000 fans clad in white.

“There’s a lot of energy right now in that program,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “Wins do that for you. They played their best game, obviously, against Maryland, all the way around.”

It’s a trend that’ll have to continue for Penn State — nearly three touchdown underdogs — to have a shot against a team that’s 30-1 in Big Ten regular season games under Meyer.

Ohio State brings the nation’s third-ranked scoring defense and fourth-ranked offense into Beaver Stadium where the Buckeyes are 4-0 since 2005. But save for Wisconsin last week, Penn State is the only other team that’s pushed Ohio State to overtime since Meyer took over, falling in two extra periods in 2014.

“The margin of error when you play a team like this is so small, you’ve got to be almost perfect on your details,” Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley said.

That’s a lesson Penn State’s young lineup learned the hard way in their previous game against a top 5 team, a blowout to then-No. 4 Michigan where the Nittany Lions managed just three first downs in the first half.

“That’s something where the margin of error showed up,” McSorley said.

But McSorley’s taken a page out of Ohio State counterpart J.T. Barrett’s book lately. His 26 rushes for 154 yards and two TDs the past two games coupled with his ability to buy time his receivers can get deep has led to big plays down the field.

It’s evidence Penn State’s offense has turned a corner since the Michigan game and is confident it can hang with Ohio State.

“I think we would be extremely comfortable if it’s a shootout,” tight end Mike Gesicki said. “I think we would be extremely comfortable if it’s going to be one big play that changes the game.”