For the Penn State Nittany Lions, it’s a season definer. It’s a chance to play spoiler in their division of the Big Ten, and derail the Ohio State National Title game dreams.
For OSU, it’s another chance to try and silence their critics about their soft schedule. Maybe. This game is really more about iconic branding than it is college football. Two very well-known historical programs with insane fanbases; in a game that has less implications than you might think. Buckeyes fans are complaining about their #4 BCS ranking.
Hey, PLAY SOMEBODY.
And win with “style points.”
TV: 7 pm Central ABC.
Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe
SPREAD: Ohio St. -14.5
Nittany Lions Preview:
Although they may be more than two touchdown underdogs, remember that the Nittany Lions have won two of its past three games at Ohio Stadium and the Buckeyes appear vulnerable. Can they pull the upset? In all their conference games, they’ve had trouble putting people away, and have let their opponents hang around well into the third and fourth quarters.
Christian Hackenberg and the Nittany Lions offense has spread the ball around a lot more than in previous games. They’ve diversified their passing portfolio, beyond just Allen Robinson, who is arguably the best receiver in the Big Ten. Also, I’d put Hackenberg number one in my conference QB power rankings.
However, when the Nittany Lions play Saturday in Columbus, they’ll need to add more balance to the offense by running the ball more. They need ball control to keep winning the time of possession battle and keep Carlos Hyde, Braxton Miller and company off the field. Especially in the second half, as Ohio State has really been a second half team.
“The team we’re playing on Saturday has some really talented receivers,” Nittany Lions Coach Bill O’Brien said. He also said Ryan Keiser is “full-go” and has been practicing. “Everyone’s healthy for this game” outside of those out for the season.
Buckeyes preview:
Bradley Roby is the perfect villain for this game. There’s nothing likable at all about Roby his cheap shots on the Iowa Hawkeyes got him kicked out of the game, due to his violation of the targeting rule. He missed the opening game of the year for a suspension and has blown a few notable assignments in coverage. But he has also intercepted two passes and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.
So what does this do with his NFL Draft stock? Between his unprofessional play on Saturday, and then taking to Twitter after he was kicked out, the suspension, his arrogant trash talking to Illini WR A.J. Jenkins before their meeting in 2011, and his Twitter biography that declares himself a 2014 National Champion, Roby is clearly somebody who has sought out his positive press clippings too much. And read them a little too closely, because he’s obviously pretty high on himself.
I’ve spent so much time talking about him here, because he’s obviously the key player to this game. The match-up to watch is the Buckeye pass defense vs the Nittany Lions pass offense, and Roby is a key player in that battle.
“He’s not playing at the same level he did a year ago. At times he plays fantastic. When there’s a mistake on the corner position it’s glaring,” Buckeyes Coach Urban Meyer said of Roby.
Meyer on Roby, and how his ejection changed the flow of the game:
:that was a game changer. To take one of your better players out of the game, that impacted that game. And then you watch and we actually had an official come in and speak to our teams. And two triggers, we were told there’s two ways that you get thrown out of the game, if you hit the crown of your helmet. Nothing but bad things happen when you play with your head down. And when you target someone else’s head above the shoulder pads. We teach and work hard at it, as other coaches, and other coaches have called me, is that you play the game with the shoulder pads and play below the head. I agree a hundred percent. To have a guy ejected who played like that, obviously I’m concerned.
And Big 10 officials have done a great job. I had a good conversation with Bill the head of the officials and they’re just looking at it. I just think on a national level that’s something that needs to continue to be evaluated.”
Brutally honest prediction: Ohio St. 38, Nittany Lions 31
Another tightly contest battle for OSU, and again Urban Meyer finds a way to pull it out. The Nittany Lions will play tough, but come up just short.
Brutally honest record: 63-25
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a regular analyst on news talk radio stations across the world; with weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS