Game Preview: Ohio State vs Penn State

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Buckeye50_Josh Leave a comment

If you need to know where the place to be on Saturday is, look no further than State College, PA. The stakes for Ohio State versus Penn State are always high, especially the last few seasons where the winner of this game put themselves in a position to play for a Big Ten Championship, and the same thing will be true for this game. Ohio State enters the game as the 4th ranked team in the country but are coming off their worst performance of the season. Penn State is undefeated, ranked 3rd in the country and has had some close games of their own so far, but their biggest concern will be who will start at quarterback.

This game was announced as a Big Noon Kickoff game, so FOX will air this contest in two of the best teams in the country at 12pm. For fans of college football outside of these two programs, this is probably a disappointing timeslot because the Nittany Lions are known for their “White Out” games as one of the most hostile environments. ESPN’s College Game Day will also be on campus for this showdown, and will be the 3rd Big Ten Game in 4 weeks where they will be on location. They were at Ohio State vs Oregon 3 weeks ago, and were just at Bloomington, IN for Indiana vs Washington.

In the scope of the season, this game is a huge game for both teams and their goals for the season, but it also highlights the conference as one of the best in the country. Saturday can’t get here soon enough, and we know the Buckeye media team is ready. Check below for their latest hype trailer.

Know The Opponent:

Head Coach: James Franklin (11th season)
2024 Record: 7-0
Conference: Big Ten
Location: State College, PA

Ohio State Preview

The stakes of this game are huge for the Buckeyes and this is a must win game for them if they want to have any chance of making the Big Ten Championship game for the first time since 2020. Oregon remains undefeated, but Penn State and Indiana are as well, the last two are ahead of the Buckeyes on their schedule, so if the Buckeyes could beat both, they can lock themselves into a trip to Indianapolis. A loss would all but eliminate them with 2 in-conference losses. They still are one of the top teams to get into the playoff at this time, and are still on the of the betting favorites to win a national championship, but they have to take this one game at a time.

The win might be a little harder with questions on the offensive line, as well as the depth at tight end. Ryan Day stated that Josh Simmons and Zen Michalski would both be out for this game, so we will see if the plan is to move Donovan Jackson over. In reality, the best way to help too is to not get too complicated on offense, and keep the run game simple.

Will Howard is excited about the chance to play in this game against Penn State. “It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough. But I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”

Howard has been great this season, passing for 1795 yards on the season with 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He also has rushed 41 times for 91 yards and 5 touchdowns, and I get the sense that he is going to be more involved in the run game based on he the dept issues at offensive line.

Quinshon Judkins leads the team with 520 yards on 81 carries and 6 touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson is second with 62 carries for 449 yard and 4 touchdowns. The Buckeyes need to keep these two healthy and rotate in when needed to keep the Penn State defense on their toes.

The past few years, Ohio State has been able to rely on the passing game to make a play when they need it, and the Buckeyes have the clear advantage with their wide out room. Jeremiah Smith leads the team with 35 catches for 623 yards, and 8 touchdowns. Emekea Egbuka has 43 catches for 546 yards and 6 touchdowns. Carnell Tate was able to break 100 yards last week and has 19 catches for 334 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Penn State Preview

Penn State enters the game as the higher ranked team, and undefeated. They have had some bumps on the road, and won a few close games, like the one on the road against USC, but they are keeping their chances for the Big Ten Championship and Playoff alive. When the 12 team playoff was announced, a lot of the dialogue was that this system is made for teams like Penn State, who usually are near the top of the rankings, but lose to Michigan and Ohio State.

This year, they control their destiny and in a way are playing with house money. The pressure will be on James Franklin, who has not had the greatest record when playing against top 5 teams, but he always tends to give Ohio State some fits. A win against the Buckeyes and Penn State could have an easier path to the Big Ten Championship game, with onlu needing to worry about what happens with Oregon and Indiana. A win could lock them in the playoff as well with at worst an At-large team with a potential first round bye. A loss to Ohio State would impact their Big Ten Championship game chances, but should not impact their playoff hopes if they win out the rest of the season, with their only loss being to a top 5 team in the country.

James Franklin is happy with the opportunity this team has going into the matchup.

“We’re excited about the opportunity. And that’s what we’re focused on, is the Ohio State team from this year and the Penn State team for this year and what we have to do to find a way to get a win. And what I’m excited about is this team has showed all of our fans, all of our lettermen, our alumni, the students, everybody, that they’re going to find ways to get the job done.”

“Offensively, Chip Kelly there, I think Chip kind of has a reputation of a guy with a spread background and throwing the ball around, and I get that. But if you really study Chip, he’s always had a strong running game, and you see that this year. It’s a big part of what they’re doing, 11 personnel and 12 personnel.”

The Penn State offense is led by Drew Allar, who is a game time decision, since being injured last week against Wisconsin, but has been practicing this week in practice. Allar has passed for 1640 yards with 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He as also rushed for 3 touchdowns, and ran for 129 yards on 34 carries. Beau Pribula is the expected back up, who came in for Allar against Wisconsin and he has passed for 200 yardd with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. At the time Allar went out, Penn State was losing, but Pribula help lead the Nittany Lions to a bigger victory.

Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton are the starting running backs for Penn State in an offense that likes to run the ball and use them in the passing game. Allen has 1001 rushes for 509 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also has 7 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. Singleton has 75 carries for 483 yards and 3 touchdowns, and has 13 catches for 150 yards and 4 touchdowns. Beau Pribula is more of the running threat at quarterback, so if he does get the start, the Buckeyes will need to keep a spy on him.

Tyler Warren is the leading receiver, and is the starting tight end. He has 47 catches for 559 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sonny Styles or Caleb Downs might be who the Buckeyes will have key in on Warren. Harrison Wallace is next on the team with 22 catches for 350 yards and 2 touchdowns. Liam Clifford is third on the team with 14 catches for 246 yards and a touchdown. A familiar name in the group is Julian Fleming, who transferred back to his home-state after being a Buckeye and has 10 catches for 148 yards on the season.

Buckeye Spotlight

Will Howard. The bring spot of the Ohio State offense last week against Nebraska was Will Howard, who had one bad pass, but played a nearly perfect game, just didn’t get as many opportunities to showcase his growth this season. 16 passes is not enough, and I think with the gelling of the offensive line, Howard will make plays with his arm and his legs to keep Ohio State in fighting position.

Photo Credit: 247sports.com

Nittany Lion Spotlight

Tyler Warren. The tight end is Allar’s favorite target, and is a very physical receiver. His receptions are more than the next three receivers combined, and has over 550 yards receiving. Regardless of who is at quarterback, Warren will be safety net for Penn State when they are trying to extend plays in the passing game.

Photo Credit: GoPSUSports.com

Water Cooler Stat of the Game

24-14. Ohio State leads the all-time series 24-14, winning the last 7 meetings. The last win for Penn State was in 2016 at home, and is 1-11 in the last 12 meetings,

Prediction

This game is a must win game for Ohio State, not only for the season goals, but for Ryan Day who was given the keys and a budget to bring in the players and staff he needed to make a run for a national championship. To me, there are three factors that decide this game. The first will be who can win the line of scrimmage, and at the moment, Penn State has the advantage with health on offensive and defensive line. The second will be experience, and Ohio State is arguably one of the most experienced teams in the country, and Will Howard has seen more than both of the Penn State quarterback options. The last is who can make the plays when you need them, and with the desperation for Ohio State, this is where they need to prove it. Both teams did not play their best last week, but Penn State has had more close calls than the Buckeyes, but found ways to win in the end. I think Ohio State has a solid game plan with the passing game and can expose some holes in the Penn State secondary to control the ball, and Will Howard plays his best game as a Buckeye.

Ohio State 28 – Penn State 24

Photo Credit: Barry Reeger | AP

tagged with Drew Allar, Football, James Franklin, Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, Penn State, Ryan Day, Will Howard