Ohio State vs. Penn State: Complete Game Preview

After a miraculous comeback last Saturday against Purdue, the Ohio State Buckeyes’ run for 12-0 takes them to Happy Valley against a red-hot Penn State team.

Bill O’Brien’s first year has been bumpy at times, but it appears the Nittany Lions are playing great football by winning five straight.

Penn State defeated the Buckeyes a year ago, 20-14, in Columbus, although that win was vacated in the sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

What will happen this time in Happy Valley?

Here is a full preview of the clash between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions.

Game-Day Information

Who: Ohio State at Penn State

Where: Beaver Stadium (107,282), State College, Penn.

When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio:

Ohio: Akron - 1590 AM; Cincinnati - 1480 AM; Cleveland - 850 AM; Columbus - 1460 AM; Columbus - 97.1 FM; Toledo - 1470 AM; Youngstown - 1390 AM

Pennsylvania: State College - 1450 AM/93.7 FM; Philadelphia - 990 AM/560 AM; Pittsburgh - 1410 AM

Satellite: SIrius 92 (Ohio State broadcast), Sirius 136 (Penn State broadcast)

Depth Chart for Ohio State

Quarterback: Braxton Miller, Kenny Guiton

Running Back: Carlos Hyde/Jordan Hall, Rod Smith

Wide Receiver: Corey "Philly" Brown, Devin Smith, Jake Stoneburner, Evan Spencer, Michael Thomas, Chris Fields

Tight End: Jeff Heuerman, Nick Vannett

Offensive Tackle: Jack Mewhort, Reid Fragel, Darryl Baldwin, Taylor Decker

Offensive Guard: Andrew Norwell, Marcus Hall, Antonio Underwood, Chase Farris

Center: Corey Linsley, Jacoby Boren

Defensive End: John Simon, Nathan Williams, Noah Spence, Michael Bennett

Defensive Tackle: Johnathan Hankins, Garrett Goebel, Joel Hale, Adolphus Washington

Linebacker: Ryan Shazier, Zach Boren, Josh Perry, Curtis Grant, Conner Crowell, David Perkins

Cornerback: Bradley Roby, Travis Howard, Doran Grant, Adam Griffin

Safety: C.J. Barnett, Christian Bryant, Orhian Johnson, Corey Brown

Depth Chart for Penn State

Quarterback: Matt McGloin, Steven Bench

Running Back: Bill Belton, Zach Zwinak

Fullback: Michael Zordich, Pat Zerbe

Wide Receiver: Allen Robinson, Brandon Moseby-Felder, Alex Kenney, Trevor Williams

Tight End: Kyle Carter, Garry Gilliam

Offensive Tackle: Donovan Smith, Mike Farrell, Nate Cadogan, Adam Gress

Offensive Guard: Miles Dieffenbach, John Urschel, Ty Howie, Eric Shrive

Center: Matt Stankiewitch, Frank Figueroa

Defensive End: Sean Stanley, Deion Barnes, C.J. Olaniyan, Pete Massaro/Anthony Zettel

Defensive Tackle: Jordan Hill, DaQuan Jones, Kyle Baublitz, James Terry

Linebacker: Gerald Hodges, Glenn Carson, Michael Mauti, Mike Hull, Michael Yancich, Ben Kline

Cornerback: Stephon Morris, Adrian Amos, DaQuan Davis, Jesse Della Valle

Safety: Malcolm Willis, Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, Ryan Keiser, Jake Fagnano

What Happened to the Buckeyes Last Week?

The Buckeyes’ undefeated season almost came to a crashing halt at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers.

Enter Kenny Guiton and one of the best comebacks in recent Ohio State history, as the Buckeyes defeated Purdue, 29-22, in overtime.

Braxton Miller took a heavy hit, but somehow came out of the game symptom-free and is expected to play this Saturday.

Miller and the Buckeye offense was rendered ineffective most of the afternoon by a stout Purdue defense.

What Happened to the Nittany Lions Last Week?

Penn State made it five straight wins by getting off to a 38-0 start in Iowa City, blasting the Hawkeyes 38-14.

Matt McGloin threw for two touchdowns, and Bill Belton rushed for three more scores.

After disastrous losses against Ohio and Virginia, new coach Bill O’Brien appears to have righted the ship to move to the top of the Leaders Division, even though, like Ohio State, they are banned from postseason play.

What It Means to Both Teams

For Ohio State

The quest for an undefeated season has a chance to go to nine games, and the Buckeyes can get another win over a team that defeated them a year ago.

Ohio State and coach Urban Meyer may not win an AP national championship like they are aiming for. But a win brings them a step closer to a division title.

This game is also a big rivalry game, even though Penn State is not as big a rival to Ohio State as Michigan is.

For Penn State

The Nittany Lions also have division championship aspirations since they are also banned from the postseason.

Bill O’Brien’s success has been overshadowed so far by the job Meyer has done at Ohio State.

A win at Happy Valley would go a long way to continuing the rebuilding project at Penn State.

Key Player for Ohio State: QB Braxton Miller

As Miller goes, so does the Buckeyes’ offense.

The sophomore has been the catalyst for Ohio State all season long and has propelled his offense to No. 10 in rushing offense and No. 21 in scoring offense.

Miller probably won’t be 100 percent on Saturday, but he just needs to be efficient and protect himself because Penn State DC Ted Roof will send an array of blitzes his way.

Key Player for Penn State: RB Bill Belton

The sophomore running back had by far his best night of his career, rushing for 103 yards and three touchdowns in Penn State’s win at Iowa.

Belton missed three games at the end of the September due to injury, but appears to be rounding back into form.

The nature of the Penn State offense demands a great running game, and Belton will need to be at his best if Penn State can beat Ohio State.

Ohio State Will Win If...

The Buckeyes seem to be the better team on paper, and the defense finally played a solid game against a spread offense.

The good news for them is that Penn State plays a more pro-style offense, though the linebackers will be tested again with how much the Nittany Lions using more TEs in the passing game. OSU has been better against pro-style offenses, so this should be a welcome change for the battered Buckeye defense.

Offensively, Ohio State just needs to keep running the ball well with Carlos Hyde, who has had a strong few weeks. If Hyde is going and the passing game finds a rhythm, the Buckeyes can put up big points again.

Penn State Will Win If...

Ohio State is prone to giving up the big play defensively and thrives on the turnover. This year, Matt McGloin has been much better at delivering big plays, and only has two interceptions all season. He will need to keep doing that to pull the win off.

On defense, Roof and the PSU defense should try to follow Purdue’s game plan of isolating Miller and daring him to beat them with his arm.

The Nittany Lions will send numerous blitzes his way and make him make early decisions, which can certainly play into their advantage.

Prediction

Even though neither team has much to play for, both teams do have a division championship that may be at stake on Saturday.

Ohio State knows it got away with grand theft last week and will need to get better to improve to 9-0.

Penn State has six straight wins on its mind, but the Nittany Lions face their toughest test of the season against the undefeated Buckeyes.

Round 1 of Meyer v. O’Brien should go to Meyer.

Prediction: Ohio State 34, Penn State 24

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