Ohio State has remained flawless so far this season as they pursue a repeat title run.
Their 6-0 start to the season has not come easily though as they have been challenged closely by teams like Northern Illinois, Indiana, and Maryland who was level with the Bucks until later in the game when Ohio State became too much for them to handle.
Penn State is 5-1 on the season and undefeated in the Big Ten. Their single loss came on their first game at Temple. The Nittany Lions were 38-0-1 when facing the Owls since 1941. The loss was surely a heart breaker for the fans and organization as they were anticipating a season full of potential with star quarterback Christian Hackenburg at the helm once again.
The Buckeyes are 16-13 all time versus the Nittany Lions and have won three straight in their matchups since 2012. The Buckeyes are 9-7 all time when playing at home in this series. Four of those seven wins from Penn State came from 1912-1964 when they won four straight in Columbus. Ohio State finally broke that early losing streak at home in 1975. The Bucks also lead the series away with a 7-5 at State College.
Urban Meyer will once again roll out the dual Quarterback attack that they’ve used over the past couple weeks that features Cardale Jones (Junior) and J.T. Barrett (Sophomore). Meyer has given Jones the nod once again to start this week. Meyer will deploy his most recent tactic that he used against Maryland again this weekend in their matchup with Penn State. This tactic is to have Jones on the field up until the redzone where he is replaced by Barrett. This bodes perfectly with the QB’s given attributes. Meyer isn’t quite so sure about this as being the season long solution though. Monday, he said, “I think so, but I’m not writing it in Sharpie yet. We’ll see how it goes.”
Keys for Ohio State in this game is to establish the run with Ezekiel Elliott against the 26th ranked rushing defense of Penn State. The Bucks may not be able to get too much of their passing game going with receiver Corey Smith out for the season with a knee injury and Penn State’s 13th ranked defense in passing yards allowed. Possibly the largest factor in this game will be getting fifth year senior and former Big Ten Player of the Year Braxton Miller involved early and often. He moved positions from quarterback to H-Back after a shoulder injury that ended his season last year and the rise of young QB J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones. Miller is extremely athletic and deadly in the open field. Miller recorded three rushing attempts for 11 yards and five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Alec's Ohio Sports Blog 