Before every game, we provide a preview of Ohio State football’s opponent for the upcoming week. It’s a twelve game slate to the regular season, so there’s plenty to talk about, and plenty of opponents to get up to speed on.
Of course, some you’ll know better than others.
So, if you want to impress your friends while watching the game, we’ve got your cheat code right here. We do the research, you drop nuggets. You win on Saturdays. It’s as simple as that.
Ohio State’s eleventh game of the year is against a Nittany Lion team that’s still looking to do some pretty big things in 2019. It still controls its own destiny towards an East Division crown and Big Ten title, but it absolutely has to win Saturday in the ‘Shoe.
Next … Penn State all-time vitals
Penn State Record
(9-1 overall); (6-1 Big Ten): Last week beat Indiana 34-27
All-Time Record vs. Ohio State
14-19 (.412)
All-Time Vitals
Record: 896-392-42, No. 10 All-Time
National Championships: 2, No. 25 All-Time
Conference Championships: 4, No. 95 All-Time
Bowl Games: 49, No. 9 All-Time
Bowl Record: 29-16-2, No. 10 All-Time
Consensus All-Americans: 42, No. 11 All-Time
Heisman Winners: 1, No. 18 All-Time
NFL Draft Picks: 356, No. 8 All-Time
Best All-Time Season
1986 – Since Penn State has two national titles to their credit, that sounds like a good place to start. The Nittany Lions also won the whole thing in 1982, but there was one blemish on the record, a loss at No. 4 Alabama. That wasn’t the case in 1986. Penn State beat everyone on its schedule, including a 14-10 victory over a heavily favored Miami (FL) squad, in one of the all-time Fiesta Bowl thrillers.
That team was led by quarterback John Shaffer and running back D.J. Dozier on offense. On the way to history, the Nittany Lions knocked off No. 2 Alabama and Notre Dame both on the road, and finished the regular season with a 11-0 record before the epic showdown with No. 1 Miami.
Best Player Of All-Time
Saquon Barkley, RB, 2015-2017 – Yeah, maybe it’s a bold choice for those historical traditionalists, but Barkley came to Happy Valley out of the package ready to play. He had the size to jump right in and immediately made a splash. He rushed for over 1,000 yards as a freshman (194 against Ohio State) to set up the next couple of years.
His sophomore season, Barkley rushed for nearly 1,500 yards, then followed that up his senior season with just over 1,900 all-purpose yards. He was the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year and Running Back of the Year in both 2016 and 2017 and flirted with winning the Heisman Trophy his junior season, before getting lost in the mix when Penn State lost a couple of games.
Next … Head coach, offensive and defensive styles
Current Head Coach
James Franklin – 78-37 overall, 54-22 at Penn State
Offensive Style
Penn State uses a lot of spread option read looks that are very Run-Pass-Option (RPO) heavy. It can run power out of the formation, but will look to get the quarterback involved in the run game by reading the defensive end. From there, there are options if quarterback and Ohio native Sean Clifford doesn’t hand off to the running back. He can read the defense and keep it himself, or throw to a wide receiver releasing on a block downfield.
It’s an offense built on creating mismatches and exploiting the weaknesses of what the defense shows. Former Trace McSorley ran it to perfection and Clifford has been a pleasant surprise with his ability to command the offense as well. Ohio State must remain assignment and gap sound, all while keeping contain on the outside.
Defensive Style
The Nittany Lions are a base 4-3 defense much in the same mold as Ohio State, but will use more of a downhill attack to stop the run. It’ll bring safeties and corners up at times to put extra men in the box and will break into multiple formations out of that look.
Defensive coordinator Brent Pry could dial up a zone blitz, a cover two, or man-to-man with no safety help. It’ll be very important to get the pre-snap reads correct for Justin Fields and the offense to be successful.
Next … Player to watch and the Wildcat’s chances
Penn State player to watch
K.J. Hamler, WR — Penn State’s star wide-receiver is the key in this one for more than one reason. First and foremost, there’s a question of whether he’s going to be cleared to play. He suffered a head injury against Indiana and had to come out of the game. According to head coach James Franklin, he’s hopeful to get him back, but it all depends on him passing all the medical tests and evaluations.
The depth chart released for the game has Hamler as the starter, but is that a smokescreen?
If he’s healthy, how healthy will he be? If he’s near 100%, he’s by far the most dangerous weapon Penn State has on the outside. We saw him take one the distance against Ohio State last year, and if he can get the ball in space, he’s as fast and illusive as almost anyone in the country. He could be a great equalizer against a defense that’s been lights out for the Buckeyes so far in 2019.
Penn State Can Win The Game If …
It can limit the big play.
Ohio State has had highlight after highlight of long run and pass plays so far in 2019. It can pile up the yards and has multiple weapons in both the run and passing game. The Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring offense, and though it can grind it out if need be, it’s the explosive play that gets things rockin’.
If Penn State can make Justin Fields go through his progressions and keep running back J.K. Dobbins to 3 and 4 yard gains rather than chunk yardage, it has a chance. It might be a tall order though.
