The shine has been taken off of the matchup between Ohio State and Penn State just a wee bit after the Nittany Lions fell to Illinois last Saturday, but it’s still a ranked matchup that will go a long way to determining the Big Ten East race — and more. And you can bet Penn State will be up for this prime-time affair in Columbus.
If there’s been one program that has been the closest in talent to the Buckeyes recently, it’s been Penn State (last year’s COVID-19 year notwithstanding). The Nittany Lions might only have one win in the last nine tries against OSU, but there were some pretty monumental showdowns that were about as close as they can get over the last few years.
And there’s reason to believe that this one could be a tough ballgame as well. Ohio State has looked almost unstoppable on offense as of late, and Penn State might be trending in the wrong direction, but don’t let that fool you. The Nittany Lions dealt with some injuries last week and are on the mend for this one. Ryan Day expects Penn State to bring its A-game, and so do we.
We’re not predicting a Nittany Lion upset in the ‘Shoe, but there are some reasons to believe that Penn State could cause some issues for Ohio State. Here are three reasons why this game could be tougher than you think.