BleacherCoaches.com

Well it looks like the state has 3 pretty darn good college football teams. Temple leads the way at 6-0 and a victory over Penn State, Pitt is 5-1 and only losing on the road to a 50+ yard field goal from undefeated Iowa, and Penn State is 5-1.

The 1st major test of our local college teams comes this Saturday night when Penn State travels to the 'Shoe to take on defending national champion and undefeated Ohio State. OSU has won 19 straight and surprisingly the closest game in the stretch is a multi OT win at Penn State last year.

Ohio State has not looked like the team many thought they would this year. Of their 6 wins, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Maryland, and Hawaii all had hope deep into the 2nd half. At the end of the day, they do keep getting by and Urban Meyer's teams always seem to get stronger over the 2nd half. Plus they are littered with 4* and 5* talent at every spot on the depth chart.

Penn State seemed to start very slow. They lost to Temple, struggled against Buffalo and Army at home, and really seem boarderline anemic on offense during several stretches of the season so far. They are 2-0 in the conference and have one of the most feared defensive fronts that college football has seen in a long time. Their defense tends to keep them in most games they play.

A big unknown for Penn State in this one will be the health of Mangiro (their center) and Barkley (their talented freshman Tailback). If they can get these 2 in the lineup, it gives them a big boost in the running game.

My prediction,

Ohio State 26 Penn State 16

Pitt 4-1*

James Franklin is a lot of talk. The word is out that he's a poor game day coach and even worse at Xs and O's.

tOSU 37
PSU 2

If Ohio State wants to shine on the big stage and show off all their talent...they'll win 45-0.

If they play like they have been and sleepwalk through the game, 24-14 with a late score to put it out of reach.

WPIAL~Titan wrote:James Franklin is a lot of talk. The word is out that he's a poor game day coach and even worse at Xs and O's.

tOSU 37
PSU 2

yeah, talked his way somehow to a 5-1 record with what is basically the worst situation any coach could walk in to. Poor game day coach? he's winning with a JV team.

[font='Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"[/font][font='Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If Ohio State wants to shine on the big stage and show off all their talent...they'll win 45-0."[/font]

[font='Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Even if they play their best game, they won't score 45 on the PSU defense. I see this as a PSU loss for sure but maybe a 31-10 type deal[/font]

I still wouldn't say any of his wins this year are glowing endorsements that he's a great Gameday coach. Rutgers' coach was suspended, San Diego State gave away 2-3 touchdowns, Indiana's QB and RB were out, Army probably should have beat them. Not to mention they haven't left the state of Pennsylvania for a game this season. 

If he goes into Columbus and either beats the Buckeyes or plays them tough, he'll deserve a lot of credit. But if they get crushed, I don't think he'll get blasted for it.  

A win is a win when you are in the situation that Penn State has been in for the last 2-3 years. PSU has not been impressive in at least 3 of their games this year and are by no means a great football team. Indiana may have been without their QB & RB but PSU was without their top 2 tailbacks, best OL, and starting MLB so I would say those things even themselves out. Can they compete with OSU? At home, possibly, as was shown last year's OT loss where OSU was basically gifted 10 points. In Columbus? At night? On national TV? In a blackout? I have a hard time seeing PSU (or most college teams for that matter) keeping it that close.

The PSU defense is good but I believe they get worn down in the 2nd half because of the inability of the offense to score. Does anyone see a way for the PSU offense to score enough points with at best an average OL vs. that defensive front, and those CBs playing press man coverage against WR who have struggled to get separation much of the season.

I know OSU has been less than the overwhelming force most expected in every game this season. However, given what the atmosphere will be, I expect PSU to have their full attention on Saturday night. I'll call it 38-10 OSU (with a couple 4th quarter touchdowns vs. a tiring PSU defense to get the separation needed for a comfortable win). IF PSU is in a close game in the 4th quarter on that stage, then perhaps they are making strides (which they are making, especially considering the heavy amount of FR, RS FR, & Sophs playing) quicker than previously thought.

Also, if PSU is in any kind of close game late in the contest, you can count on Titan and other Pitt fans to claim here, and on other social media platforms, that it was only because OSU was overlooking PSU. If PSU, gets blown out, well then, they stink, are overrated, and would struggle to beat Clairton. Can't really lose either way in those scenarios for people who can't wait to criticize all things PSU.

Ohio State has been looking past everyone, if they struggle with Penn State it wouldn't make them anymore special than Northern Illinois. 

But speaking to that point, why do you think Ohio State looks disinterestedyhis year? Are they bored and saving it for Late in the year? 

That's a good point regarding Ohio State this year. I can't really put my finger on it as to why they haven't been as impressive as most expected. I don't know if it's the championship hangover, if it's because they are getting everyone's best shot, or simply like you stated they are coasting until the bigger match ups later this year with MSU & UM. As much as PSU would like to be considered a rival of
of OSU, they aren't, simply because nothing will supplant UM/OSU and MSU is a bigger game this year for them.

Having said that, I believe that is where the atmosphere will really help OSU this weekend. They are having their first ever blackout, with an 8:00 kick on national tv (I think PSU plays much better during the night whiteout games, see OSU last year) all of which will contribute to OSU being as ready to play as they have been all year. Add to that the possibility that they are getting sick of everyone saying they've been disappointing this year and IMO you are going to get the best OSU effort to date.

There are to many matchups that spell trouble for PSU for me to believe they are going to go in to that environment and win (not to mention this is probably not the venue you want when leaving the state for the first time). I think PSU is making progress in improving their talent level through recruiting, but they are likely to find out on Saturday how much further they have to go. I would love to be wrong about this, but I just can't see the game going any other way.

...Some more food for thought on Saturday's Big Game:
...1) The average well informed PSU football fan thought PSU would be 6-0 right now. That did not happen.
...2) You can tell a team is not living up to expectations when the coach keeps saying "A win is a win".
...3) Jeff Sagarin has OSU ranked #14, with a strength of schedule of 86th. PSU is ranked 52, with an SOS of 95.
...4) Penn State's opponents have Sagarin rankings of Temple 43, Buffalo 103, Rutgers 89, SDS 96, Army 126, Indiana 73.
...5) PSU has not played an away opponent at THEIR own home field since 2014.
...6) With only 2 good games under his belt (against Buffalo and Rutgers), why do the Nits keep acting like Barkley's absence has crippled their offense and held them back?
...7) And how long are we going to keep hearing "sanctions" as an excuse for mediocre play?