Tag: Nittany Lions Football

Ohio State must be ready to face the reeling Nittany Lions

Ohio State made a statement on Saturday, while Penn State dropped a shocker. The Buckeyes can’t afford to get confident and complacent.

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.

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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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An Ohio State loss to Penn State could ruin Buckeyes dominant season

If the Ohio State Buckeyes lose to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, their historically dominant season could be in trouble.

Ohio State, in 2019, won’t settle for a Rose Bowl-type finale. They need to make the College Football Playoff, and after the dominance it has shown this season, that’s the only possible way to dub this season successful.

However, the Buckeyes’ matchup with Penn State could put a serious sour note to the entire season if it doesn’t go their way.

The main reason why it would be so disastrous is that Ohio State would then fail to make the Big Ten Championship game, not being the front-runner to come out of the East with just one game to go.

The Nittany Lions may be 6-1 in conference play, losing to Minnesota, while Ohio State is a clean 7-0, but what’s important is the record within the conference and Penn State would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

A one-loss Penn State or Minnesota team that takes over as Big Ten Champs would be going against Ohio State in terms of making the Playoff. The committee seems to favor teams without bad losses and with conference championships. Or, that have an SEC logo on their chest.

That means Oregon and Penn State would both likely be competing directly with the Buckeyes. But, let’s remember one thing first: Penn State must actually beat Ohio State.

We saw Wisconsin, who once considered a top-two team in the Big Ten, get absolutely manhandled by Ohio State. There’s no reason to think the same won’t happen to Penn State.

With the return of Chase Young, Ohio State will be at nearly full strength, and this could be over in the first 45 minutes. If it’s not, this game could spell trouble for Ohio State’s historic season.

The game kicks off Saturday, at noon EST on FOX. Be there, and be loud.