Penn State vs. Ohio State: A battle of David and Goliath

Penn State vs. Ohio State: A battle of David and Goliath

This Saturday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive against the national powerhouse Ohio State Buckeyes. This Big Ten classic is a must-win for Ohio State as well, who is trying to secure a high seed in the playoffs.

This matchup has lived up to the hype the past three years, with each being determined in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. Penn State, who is always the underdog, shocked the Buckeyes in 2016 in an electrifying game decided by a blocked field goal in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes fought back the next two years and bested the Nittany Lions the next two years with narrow wins of 39-38 in 2017 and 27-26 last year. Penn State is looking to get revenge after these two tough loses.

Ohio State is cruising this year with an overall 10-0 record, and are ranked second in all of college football. Penn State also has a solid record of 9-1, but they recently lost a heart-breaker against Minnesota, lowering their national rank from fourth to ninth. Penn State won a close game against Indiana last week on a last-minute rushing touchdown by quarterback Sean Clifford to rise to eighth in the rankings. Ohio State steamrolled Rutgers this past week and get their star defensive end, Chase Young, back from suspension. Chase Young, who has 13.5 sacks in eight games, is projected to be one of the top picks of the NFL draft in April and is going to be a problem for the Penn State offense.

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Nittany Lions are clearly the underdogs in this matchup. The Buckeyes have an 84.2% chance to beat the Nittany Lions and the spread of the game favors the Buckeyes by 17.5 points. The Nittany Lions offense, led by quarterback Sean Clifford and star wide receiver KJ Hamler, average 36.8 points per game and the powerhouse defensive line has a total of 33 sacks, with star defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos having 6.5 sacks. The Nittany Lions also allow an average of 13.5 points per game to opposing teams. The Buckeyes offense, led by quarterback Justin Fields and star running back J.K. Dobbins, average 51.5 points per game.

The winner of this game will clinch the Big Ten East division with a win the following week and then battle either Minnesota or Wisconsin from the West in the Big Ten Championship.

Either Ohio State or Penn State will likely be placed in the college football playoffs with a win in this crucial game.

(Feature and article photos courtesy of Buckeyeswire.usatoday.com)