Ohio State made a statement on Saturday and reminded everyone it’s still one of the best teams in college football. The Buckeyes did not play their best football, which was to be expected after a strange offseason. However, they walked out of the game victors and won by an impressive 52-17 score.
OSU’s opponent this week, the Penn State Nittany Lions, went the opposite route against Indiana. A ton of mistakes led to them losing, and it all starts with head coach James Franklin.
Not to take anything away from Indiana because Tom Allen is building a solid team and starting to change the culture in Bloomington. However, strange play calls, mental errors, a missed field goal and a bad break on an official’s call on the two-point conversion in overtime all led to the upset.
After the game, the Nittany Lions accepted blame. However, they seemed more stunned than angry. Safety Lamont Wade put it all into perspective after the game.
“It’s going to be hard to get over this one, but we don’t have a choice,” Wade said. “We have to be focused all week. We can’t let this game beat us twice.”
With this week’s game in prime time on ABC, Penn State will feel more pressure than it did playing the Hoosiers on the Big Ten Network in the middle of the day.
WE'RE HEADED TO HAPPY VALLEY!
See you next week for Ohio State vs. Penn State 👏 pic.twitter.com/FNzYd2ce4j
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 25, 2020
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Despite it all, Ohio State can’t get too confident. This is a dangerous Penn State team that has talent more equal to what’s in Columbus than anyone else in the league. Mistakes by both players and coaches helped Indiana win, but if those get fixed, this could be a tough out.
Justin Fields is looking incredible, and the Buckeyes have to feel good heading into this game. Still, there’s no doubt this is a big one on the schedule for Ohio State’s playoff goals. An angry and focused Nittany Lion squad will be a huge test for the Buckeyes, but one they are more than ready for.
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