For the first time since its dramatic double overtime win in 2014 over Penn State, Ohio State returns to Beaver Stadium. Penn State, with a 4-2 record, will be eager and anxious to defeat the Buckeyes for the first time since 2011.
For his part, Ohio State Urban Meyer recognizes the difficulty and challenges associated with playing at Beaver Stadium in the self-proclaimed ‘White-Out’ environment. During his October 17th press conference, Meyer stated, “I wish they’d save the ‘White Out’ for other games”.
In fairness to Ohio State, playing Penn State at night has become something of a habit. Ohio State has played Penn State in many “White-Out” games since Penn State joined The B1G back in 1993. Ohio State played at Penn State in designated “White-Out” games under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer in 2005, 2007, 2012, and 2014; only in 2005 did Ohio State suffer a loss.
As stated during our recent Men of the Scarlet and Gray Podcast, Shannon Sommers and I believe the Ohio State overtime win over Wisconsin has the Buckeyes prepared for the raucous and rowdy environment of Beaver Stadium. As Coach Meyer mentioned in his aforementioned press conference from October 17th, “You need to get hit right in the chops. We did…We did get out played. I wouldn’t say we got out toughed. They didn’t out effort us…As anguished as that was, as much of a root canal as that was, I’d much rather have it that way for that kind of game, for the development of your team…”
Penn State has other similarities to Wisconsin that the Buckeyes will recognize. Penn State is coming off a bye week, meaning the Buckeyes again will face an opponent that is well-rested, and probably ready to test the Ohio State defense in ways that seemed to confound and confuse the Buckeyes in Camp Randall on October 15th. Penn State also has a dynamic tailback of their own in Saquon Barkley, whom Coach Meyer dubbed a “first-rounder” when describing Barkley’s talent. Barkley ran for 194 yards last season in Columbus, so he will be the primary person of attention whenever Penn State’s offense is on the field.
Below are three areas I will be paying specific attention to when the game kicks off at 8pm EST on ABC…
1. How Much Will Penn State Try To Copy Wisconsin’s Offensive Game Plan? — Ohio State was battling a 16-6 deficit at halftime, fortunate that it was not even worse. Wisconsin had success running the ball with Corey Clement and using wideout Jazz Peavy on jet sweeps. Ohio State was able to shut down this offensive attack in the second half rally, but with such a running threat in Barkley, plus a stable of capable wide receivers, this will be interesting to gauge what weaknesses in the Ohio State defense that Penn State Head Coach James Franklin and his coaching staff were able to identify in the close Ohio State victory last week.
2. Ohio State’s Passing Game — Coach Meyer took umbrage during his October 17th press conference with a reporter who stated that the Ohio State passing game, “it looked like the passing game had a square wheel…”. While Coach Meyer may have been irked with the question, the reality is Ohio State’s leading receiver is H-Back Curtis Samuel with 29 receptions; fellow H-Back Dontre Wilson and wide receiver Noah Brown are tied for the next number of receptions at 16. The next leading receiver is Parris Campbell, with 8 receptions so far this season. Ohio State needs to develop a better passing attack, with other teams likely to stack the box defensively with eight or nine men, effectively limiting the Ohio State ground game. And that leads me to…
3. “White-Out” Leads To A Weber Workout, Possibly — Penn State’s defense has battled injuries all season, especially at the linebacker position. Ranked 103rd in the country against the run, Ohio State should take advantage of this with a steady diet of Mike Weber, Curtis Samuel, and Dontre Wilson. Anyone who has listened to our podcast knows I would love to see less of J.T. Barrett carrying the ball.
Prediction
Penn State is going to come out as fired up for this game as Wisconsin was a week ago. The quickest and easiest way for Ohio State to take the crowd out of the game is to get a lead early. With such an atypical Penn State defense, Ohio State may look to establish the running game in the first half, which could open up for more play-action passing opportunities in the second half. Saquon Barkley will be shadowed all night by the Ohio State defense. Look for Barkley to have some great runs, but Ohio State should be able to slow Barkley down enough to force Penn State into the air, and the Ohio State secondary will be able to hold its own against Penn State’s receivers. Las Vegas has the Buckeyes as 20 point favorites, but I think this will be closer than that.
Final Score: Ohio State 35, Penn State 20.
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