Oct. 16, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State will hit the road for the first time in Big Ten play on Saturday with a primetime, nationally-televised matchup against No. 1 Ohio State.
Following five-straight wins at home, the Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-0) will collide with the Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0) during an 8 p.m. kick in Ohio Stadium. The game will air live on ABC.
11404467.jpeg"We are really excited about the opportunity," head coach James Franklin. "It will be a tremendous challenge, but we are excited about it. This type of game is why people come to Penn State. It will be a great atmosphere, and we are looking forward to it."
Penn State's defense again turned in a dominant performance last week, limiting Indiana to just one score in a 29-7 victory over the Hoosiers. After yielding just three points to Rutgers and one score to Indiana, the Nittany Lions equaled the fewest number of points (10) in a two-game span in Big Ten play since they joined the conference in 1993.
Senior defensive end Carl Nassib leads the nation in sacks (10.0) and forced fumbles (5) through the first six games of the season. As a unit, the Nittany Lions are ranked No. 10 in the nation in total defense by allowing just 275.7 yards per game in 2015.
Offensively, junior Christian Hackenberg accounted for four touchdowns against Indiana, including a pair of 39-yard passing scores and two rushing scores. Following his 17th 200-yard game, Hackenberg is now just one of two Penn State players with 7,000 career yards. Sophomore Chris Godwin leads the Nittany Lion receivers with 27 receptions for 390 yards.
The defending national champion Buckeyes bring a 19-game winning streak into the primetime clash. Ohio State defeated Maryland, 49-28, last week to claim a 2-0 record in Big Ten play. The top rated offense in the conference enters the week averaging 36.8 points and 460.0 yards per contest. In addition to knocking off Maryland, the Buckeyes also defeated Indiana (34-27) in Big Ten play, in addition to Virginia Tech (42-24), Hawaii (38-0), Northern Illinois (20-13) and Western Michigan (38-12) during the non-conference slate.
In a series that dates back to 1912, Penn State and Ohio State will be meeting for the 31st time on Saturday night. The two teams met eight times before the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993. Since then, Penn State and Ohio State have met annually. The Lions are 2-2 in their last four games in Columbus, with wins coming in 2008 and 2011. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 17-13.
Penn State will finish off its string of back-to-back road games next week when it travels to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to face Maryland on Oct. 24. The Lions return home to Beaver Stadium on Oct. 31 for a matchup against Illinois.