OHIO STATE AT PENN STATE: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY’S GAME
Who: No. 2 Ohio State at No. 13 Penn State
When: Noon today
Where: Beaver Stadium, College Park, Pa.
Tv/radio: FOX/1410
Series history: Ohio State leads 23-14, including a 38-14 home win in 2010 that was vacated because of NCAA sanctions. The Buckeyes have won the last five meetings.
Last meeting: C.J. Stroud threw for
305 yards, Treveyon Henderson ran for 158 and Ohio State capitalized on a pair of Sean Clifford turnovers to win 33-24 in Columbus last Halloween.
Coaches: Ohio State’s Ryan Day is 41-4 in three seasons, including 27–1 in the
Big Ten. James Franklin is 73-35 in nine seasons at Penn State and 97-50 overall. He is 1-7 against Ohio State while Day is 3-0 against the Nittany Lions.
Ohio State notes: Stroud is leading the nation in touchdown passes (28), passing efficiency (203.9) and points responsible for (168). He is second in yards per attempt (10.7) and third in yards per completion (15.2)… Ohio State is No. 2 nationally in total defense (239.9 yards per game)… The Buckeyes have scored on all 36 of their red zone trips this season, including 28 touchdowns… Ohio State leads the nation in yards per play (7.7)… Ohio State has three players from Pennsylvania high schools: junior receiver Julian Fleming (Catawissa), sophomore quarterback Kyle Mccord (Philadelphia St. Joseph’s) and sophomore receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (Philadelphia St. Joseph’s).
Penn State notes: The Nittany Lions are 20th nationally in scoring defense (18.9 points per game) and 39th in scoring offense (33.4 ppg.) … They are sixth in red zone offense… Penn State is 13-4-1 with a four-game winning streak on Oct. 29, including a 63-14 win over Ohio State in 1994… With a 30879 all-time record in Beaver Stadium, Penn State owns the sixth-best winning percentage (.795) in its current home venue among current FBS schools and leads the Big Ten … Since the start of the 2016 season, Penn State is second in the Big Ten in yards per play (6.04; 30th) and total offense (423.6; 39th) and third in points per possession (2.15; 23rd), yards per pass attempt (7.89; 29th) and scoring offense (33.3; 26th).
Quoted: Franklin on matching up with Ohio State: “Maybe you could make the argument, the strength of our defense is in the secondary, if you were ranking all three levels. That’s a strength of ours for sure. We have a lot of confidence in those guys and we are going to need it. But I also know that these guys are talented enough up front and at tight end and at running back that if you put too much of an emphasis on that, they can beat you the other way, too, by running the ball. They do a good job of being balanced. I think at the end of the day, you know, their trigger-man is what makes them go. He’s the one that distributes the ball to all those different play-makers and does a really good job doing it. He throws on the run as well as he throws from the pocket, which is somewhat unusual. Again, he’s leading the Heisman race for a reason. A talented guy that we have a ton of respect for.
Next week: Ohio State travels to Northwestern for another noon game next Saturday. Penn State plays at Indiana.
Prediction: Ohio State 38,
Penn State 21