By: Tyler Millen - GoPSUsports.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Over 112 years of history has binded No. 3/3 Penn State and No. 4/4 Ohio State since the first matchup of the border state foes in 1912. The two teams have played every year since 1993 and Saturday’s noon clash on FOX at Beaver Stadium marks the 40th all-time battle.
The two storied programs will meet for the second time both ranked in the top-5 of the AP poll and for the 11th time as top-10 teams. 17 games between the 7-0 Nittany Lions and 6-1 Buckeyes has been decided by one possession as Saturday will feature two of the most balanced teams in the country.
Penn State is coming off a 28-13 win over Wisconsin on the road headlined by a 19-yard pick-six from senior safety Jaylen Reed. The Nittany Lions defense is out scoring opposing offenses in the third quarter this season 7-6 and have allowed just 30 points in the second half.
“It's our mentality at the end of the day,” redshirt senior+ Dvon J-Thomas said. “We're keeping the game simple. We go into halftime, we're saying it's 0-0, this is what we need to improve on. Maybe it's going from man to zone, or maybe it's playing the run a little bit better, or running stunts up front… That's our main goal every single week is keep it simple, so that way when we go out there, we're faster and we can execute more.”
Penn State’s ‘Helmet Stripe’ contest will feature a marquee matchup of two of the best offenses and defenses in the nation. The Nittany Lions are ranked 13th in the country registering 463.7 yards per game while the Buckeyes slot in at ninth at 471.9 yards per game.
That offensive production has been generated by a pair of the most accurate quarterbacks in the country. Penn State junior Drew Allar and Ohio State graduate student Will Howard both place top-10 nationally in QBR rating at ninth and sixth, respectively.
Both teams are in the top-35 of both rushing and passing offense with two of the top playmakers in the Big Ten going toe-to-toe in Penn State senior tight end Tyler Warren and Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Harrison Wallace III has already amassed a career-high 350 receiving yards and is coming off his second most yards in a game this season with 67 against Wisconsin. Wallace said the Penn State offense is ready for the challenge with a “balanced” offense.
“I feel like we’re more balanced,” Wallace said. “There’s not one thing that they can really look out for because if you do that, then there's someone else coming over your head or there’s a running back going a certain way so we got a lot of bullets in the chamber.”
The defensive side of the ball will feature a group of elite edge rushers consisting of the Nittany Lions juniors’ Abdul Carter, Dani Dennis-Sutton and the Buckeyes senior defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau.
Rushing the passer and generating havoc in the backfield has been the bread-and-butter of both defenses. Ohio State and Penn State are first and second in the Big Ten, respectively in total defense as the former is allowing 254.4 yards per game and the latter has allowed 267.6 yards per game.
Both defenses allow under 100 rushing yards per game with Penn State placing eighth nationally in rushing defense while Ohio State is sixth. They’re separated by under two yards a game as they’ll be tasked with handling a talented group of junior running backs like Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Quinshon Judkins and senior TreVeyon Henderson.
“What I'm excited about is this team has shown all of our fans, all of our lettermen, our alumni, the students, everybody, that they're going to find ways to get the job done,” head coach James Franklin said. “We're going to have to do that again this week against a really good team who's extremely talented.”