Close call hasn’t shaken Nittany Lions’ confidence
No. 11 Ohio State (31, 1-0) at Rutgers (1-3, 0-1) 7:30 p.m. High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, N.J. Big Ten Network/1410
Ohio State leads 3-0. The Buckeyes won 58-0 last season in Columbus, 49-7 in 2015 at Rutgers and 56-17 in 2014 in Columbus.
Last weekend, Ohio State beat UNLV 54-21 in Columbus, and Rutgers lost 27-17 at Nebraska.
Ohio State’s Urban Meyer is 64-7 in his sixth season. Rutgers’ Chris Ash is 3-13 in his second season.
J.T. Barrett needs 201 passing yards to pass Art Schlichter and become Ohio State’s career leader in passing yards. Barrett has 7,347 yards . ... Ohio State is 20-1 in road games in the Big Ten under Meyer . ... Parris Campbell leads the nation in kickoff return average (45.6). ... The Buckeyes set a school record with 474 passing yards against UNLV . ... Ohio State has two players from New Jersey: safety Jordan Fuller and offensive lineman Kevin Feder . ... Thirteen true freshman played against UNLV . ... C.J. Saunders and Campbell both topped 100 receiving yards against UNLV. They are the first teammates to record 100 yards in the same game since Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Quarterback Kyle Bolin has thrown three touchdown passes and six interceptions . ... Gus Edwards leads in the running game with 270 yards on 62 carries. ... Jerome Washington leads the receivers with 15 catches for 135 yards. ... Rutgers opened the season with a 30-14 loss to Washington. It then lost 1613 to Eastern Michigan. It beat Morgan State 65-0 for its only victory . ... Cornerback Blessuan Austin tore his ACL against Nebraska and will miss the rest of the season.
Ash on Ohio State, “When you look at Ohio State over the years, there’s one thing that’s been pretty consistent, and it’s been a pretty good defensive line. This year is no different. They have got an outstanding defense. What makes them outstanding; it’s the depth. They have always had high- level players, players that are going to go on and be high draft picks or go to the NFL and obviously be great college players.”
Ohio State plays Maryland at 4 p.m. Oct. 7 in Columbus. Rutgers is off next week and plays at Illinois on Oct. 14 at a time to be announced. Rutgers 6 Ohio State 35, S TAT E COLLEGE, PA . — Although No. 4 Penn State needed a touchdown pass in the final seconds last week to keep its dream of a playoff berth alive, the down-to-the- wire game hasn’t shaken the Nittany Lions’ confidence.
“We consider ourselves the best offense in the country,” offensive lineman Ryan Bates said. “We know how special we can be with the offensive threats we have.”
The top two, running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley, have been focal points for opposing coaches for a while now. It’s no different for Indiana coach Tom Allen, whose Hoosiers (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten) will try to slow the Nittany Lions (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium today.
Allen has seen plenty of Barkley and McSorley in the past week and knows his banged-up defense will have to have a near-perfect game plan to take away Penn State’s best options.
Barkley accumulated 358 yards on 43 touches against Iowa and leads the country with 253 all-purpose yards per game.
“(Barkley is) making runs that are impressive, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield,” Allen said. “and the quarterback is just, man, McSorley is just special. He’s just got that moxie that you want in a quarterback and that core confidence and that belief.”
It showed up when McSor- ley led a final two-minute drive ending with a pass over the middle to Juwan Johnson for the winning touchdown.
Even tho u gh he had his offense replicate the two-minute drive in prac- tice, Penn State coach James Franklin would rather not have to watch another comefrom-behind series in the waning moments.
He’s glad his team has the experience to bank on, however.
“We’ve just got to be a little bit better,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to be a little bit sharper. We’ve got to sustain blocks a little bit longer. That was probably the difference on Saturday.”
Penn State’s offensive line still may have some issues as starting right tackle Chasz Wright’s status is questionable. He missed the Iowa game with an unspecified injury.
Hurt Hoosiers:
Indiana has a much longer injury report, and a bunch could miss another game after sitting out last week’s 52-17 win over Georgia Southern.
According to Allen, the Hoosiers could likely be without starting cornerbacks A’Shon Riggins and Rashard Fant, who are dealing with unspecified injuries. Defensive linemen Nate Hoff and Juan Harris, wideout Donavan Hale, running back Mike Majette, offensive lineman Simon Stepaniak and defensive back Marcelino Ball are all also questionable, Allen said.
Linebacker Kiante Walton had surgery on an unspecified injury earlier this week and will be out indefinitely.
The other back: While plenty of excitement swirls around Barkley, the Hoosiers are hyped about their own talented back.
Freshman Morgan Ellison turned heads in camp and finally got the chance to do so in game when he ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start.
“(He’s) playing the way — after fall camp — the way he convinced me he could play,” Allen said.
Penn State’s uniforms have seen minor tweaks over the years, but the Nittany Lions’ plain blueand-white scheme, along with black cleats, has largely remained unaltered.
This weekend, they’ve been given an overhaul.
The Nittany Lions will wear uniforms that use elements from past editions, including helmet numbers, sleeve and pants stripes and gray facemasks — and white cleats worn by the 1979 team in the Sugar Bowl.
New duds: