Creature Vs. Creature: A Nittany Lion on Penn State-Ohio State

Game Preview

Last year, Ohio State came to Beaver Stadium.  It was a cool night in October, and PSU came out strong.  However, Ohio State was able to dominate the last 50 minutes of the game on the way to a 37-17 victory.  It was a sad day for all Penn State fans, including myself, as I was at the game to witness the massacre.

Penn State is currently ranked No. 3 in the BCS and looks to remain undefeated against the 7-1 Buckeyes.  They are coming off of a 46-17 massacre of Michigan, breaking their nine-game losing streak against the Wolverines.

Ohio State is currently ranked No. 9 in the BCS, and they are looking to keep their National Championship hopes alive with a win over the Nittany Lions.  Ohio State is coming off probably their best offensive performance of the year, where they slaughtered Michigan State 45-7.

Penn State feels confident that they will win because they have a very fast and talented team.  Both their offense and defense have been spectacular all season.

PSU hopes to keep up with recent success this Saturday night against the Buckeyes.  They are led by quarterback Daryll Clark, their three senior receivers Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood, and sophomore sensation and running back Evan Royster.

I can't forget our experienced and agile offensive line (they're pretty agile for being as big as they are).  Penn State's balance on offense is what makes them so successful.

Ohio State feels confident that they will win as well.  They have the home field advantage, an amazing running game led by Chris "Beanie" Wells, and quarterback Terrelle Pryor.  Terrelle Pryor is still developing as a passer, although he is already very good.  He, like Daryll Clark, is a dual-threat quarterback.

It is hard to contain someone like Pryor, but PSU was able to contain Juice Williams when they played Illinois.  Will they be able to contain Pryor, or will he run all over them?  We'll have to wait and see.

Penn State will win if...

The offense keeps on chugging.

Here are a few stats for you.  Daryll Clark has over 1,500 yards passing and 11 passing touchdowns this season.  Meanwhile, he has just under 200 rushing yards, but get this...eight rushing touchdowns.  Talk about an all-around player!  Heisman, anyone?

Evan Royster has 893 yards rushing and 10 rushing touchdowns this year!  Walker award, possibly?  He also has over 100 yards receiving.

Now here're some things about our dynamic trio of receivers.  Derrick Williams, now he's an explosive player.  He has one rushing touchdown, 300 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown, one punt return touchdown, and two kickoff return touchdowns.

Jordan Norwood has 25 receptions for over 400 yards and five touchdowns.  Deon Butler has 30 receptions for nearly 500 yards and three touchdowns.  All together, that's 13 touchdowns between the three of them.

You also have to remember that we have great tight ends and backups that get a lot of playing time, or else these three would have even bigger numbers.

Penn State's new "Spread HD" offense has been clicking on all cylinders this year.  You can say that it really is High-Definition.  They average over 40 points a game, with 38 points or more in seven of their eight games, and have only scored less than 40 points twice.  Remember, this is with backups in during most of these games.

Penn State's offense has been tearing even the stingiest of defenses apart, and if they continue to do the same, they will surely win this game.

The defense stops Ohio State's rushing attack.

In Ohio State's win over Michigan State, Pryor was 7-11 for 116 yards, most of that coming from a 55-yard pass play.  Ohio State had 216 total rushing yards, 100 more than the passing total.  Beanie had 31 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and Pryor had 12 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Ohio State's rushing attack was the reason that they put up 45 on Michigan State.

If you look at Ohio State's close win over Purdue, they didn't even score an offensive touchdown.  In that game, Ohio State only had 125 rushing yards, almost 100 less than against Michigan State.  100 yards may not seem like much, but when you consider that it's rushing yards, most teams don't get that many per game.

Also, Ohio State was limited to three yards per carry in that game, which would mean that on average they would be stuck with a 4th-and-1 on many drives.

If Penn State is able to stop Beanie for minimal yardage, and if they are able to contain Pryor, then Penn State will win.  They have to force Pryor to beat them with his arm and not his feet.  Pryor is a great runner and a good passer.  He is not a great passer—yet.

Penn State will lose if...

Ohio State runs all over them.

The dynamic duo of Pryor and Beanie provides a powerful and deadly rushing attack for Ohio State.  Pryor already has over 400 rush yards in eight games this season, which is pretty darn good for a quarterback, and is averaging just under five yards per carry.  He also has five rushing touchdowns.

Beanie, on the other hand, has over 600 yards in the few games that he has played in, and he averages over six yards per carry.  He also has four rushing touchdowns.

Pryor is 6'6'', 231 lbs., and Wells is 6'1'', 237 lbs.  These are some pretty big boys carrying the ball, and they are both fast and strong.  Ohio State has over 1,450 yards rushing and averages over 180 rushing yards per game.

When Ohio State was held to minimal rushing yardage against USC, USC won.  Not only did they win—they won big.  When Ohio State had low rushing yardage against Purdue, they did not score an offensive touchdown and the game was close.  Whenever Ohio State has had a bad rushing day, they've either lost or their offense has had very little production.

Ohio State is a very good running team right now.  Although they have some good receivers like Hartline and Robiskie, and a good quarterback in Terrelle Pryor, they are still a running team.

Surprisingly, though, they are completely one-dimensional.  Not only are they a running team, they don't even pass very well. As I just stated, they have pretty good receivers and a good quarterback, but they don't have impressive passing numbers.

From statistics and performances, Ohio State is clearly an amazing rushing team.  If they are able to get 200+ yards on Penn State, PSU will probably lose.  If Pryor and Beanie can score rushing TDs on them and wear out Penn State's defense, then Penn State will lose.  If Penn State cannot stop this great rushing attack like they did against Wisconsin, then Penn State will lose.

Evan Royster doesn't get the offense going.

Evan Royster may only be a sophomore, but he is on my Heisman ballot (not that I have one).  As I mentioned earlier, he has 116 carries for 893 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.  He averages 7.7 yards per carry, which is incredible.  He also has 11 receptions for 101 yards.  Evan Royster is THE person who gets this offense going.

For example, against Michigan, PSU was down 10-0, and Royster runs up the middle, sheds three tackles, and takes it all the way to the end zone.  That jump-started our offense, and we didn't struggle on many drives for the rest of the game, which PSU won 46-17.  Royster had 174 yards and a touchdown, and he averaged 9.7 yards per carry in that game.

In every game where our offense has started out sluggish, Royster has been there to get a few eight, 10, 20, and 30-yard gains to spark this offense.  Once he gets the offense going, there is no stopping them.  They will pass and run all over you.

The only exception to this was against Purdue, when he had 141 yards and a touchdown, and they only won 20-6.  However, most of Penn State's offense that day came from Royster, and he should be credited as the person who won the game for them.

Royster only had one bad performance, and that was against Wisconsin.  The only reason for that was that we rarely ever ran against Wisconsin.  We completely destroyed them on defense, special teams, and through the air, so there was no need to run.

Royster is probably the most important component to this offense, other than Clark.  Once again, let's not forget the offensive line, which usually does such a great job of opening holes for Royster and Clark, and giving Clark tons of time to throw.

Clark can score with his arm and his feet, but that can only get this team so far.  Stephfon Green can come in and give the offense an explosive play with speed, but that is only after Royster opens it up for him.

If Royster doesn't get it going, this offense will probably face hard times against this Ohio State defense.  Royster needs to have a pretty big game, or else Penn State will lose.

The X-Factor

In the first few games, he didn't really fare well.  Then, against Illinois, he had a historic game, scoring three touchdowns in three different ways.  No player has ever done that before, and since then, with the exception of the Purdue game, he has had pretty good performances.

Still don't know who I'm talking about?  Derrick Williams!

He is one of the most underrated all-around players in college football.  He is also one of the best all-around players in college football.  If Ohio State kicks him the ball on kickoffs, they better be able to stop him.  When they punt the ball to him, they better get to him quick.

When they see Williams in the backfield, they better have someone on him whether he gets the ball or not.  When he is lined up in the slot or out wide, they should probably give the corner some safety help.

This guy can kill you in so many ways.  Ohio State has to focus on Clark, Royster, Green, and the other two senior receivers, Butler and Norwood, but then they have an even tougher challenge.  They have to focus on Derrick Williams.

If they cover Williams too much, running the ball and passing to other receivers will be easy.  If they don't focus on Williams, he will have another career day.  I don't know how he'll do it, as he can beat you in many different ways, but he will have a couple of big plays that will definitely influence the outcome of this game.

Prediction

This game is an 8:00 p.m. game, Saturday night, in the 'Shoe.  Not much going there for Penn State.  This is the biggest game of the season, aside from the bowls, this season.  This eliminates National Championship hopes for one team and keeps the other's alive.

Ohio State and Penn State usually play each other well, as they have almost every year, with a few exceptions.  Penn State always plays Ohio State well in the 'Shoe, though they have never come out with a win there since they joined the Big Ten.

I think that Penn State will not come out conservative, especially because they didn't play the conservative game at night at Wisconsin two weeks ago.  I think that Tressel will play rather conservatively, and he will try to keep his running game going.

Penn State has been holding some tricks and some plays back so they could use them in this game...I can just tell.  Ohio State is going to have their hands full with this offense.  Penn State will play their best game of the year on both offense and defense this week, I believe.

Ohio State and Penn State both need this win.  PSU needs it to basically assure them a spot in the National Title game, assuming that they win out and either Texas or Bama loses.  OSU needs it to keep any chance at a National Championship alive, as they are struggling to keep those hopes with one loss.

I'm going to tell you something.  At first, I thought PSU would win by a field goal or a touchdown or less.  I thought it would be a very close game that came right down to the end.

However, I am not sure that prediction is the right one.  I have come to the conclusion that after watching both teams play and analyzing both teams, people have been wrong about what they were saying.

Ohio State is a good team, but they have been extremely overrated by people.  Penn State is a great team and has been drastically underrated by people.  Penn State wins big!

Penn State 41, Ohio State 21

Surprised?  Let's go State!  We'll see you in Miami!

To hear the Ohio State Buckeyes version, click here for Kristofer Green's say.

*This article is based on Justin Goar's original idea.  All thanks goes to him for letting us "borrow" his idea.  He would love for it to expand more, and that's what we are doing, and hoping that others will do the same.  We must also say thank you to Justin for thinking of this great idea!