Coaches will sometimes look back and point to a certain game as a turning point in a season, a particular moment — for better or worse — that helped define that team’s year.
For the 2014 version of Ohio State, that game came Oct. 25 at Penn State, when the Buckeyes came out with a 31-24 double-overtime victory after a grueling, hard-fought battle that saw Ohio State capture a 17-0 first-half lead, blow it, then survive a final drive by the Nittany Lions before ultimately winning in overtime.
After the game, Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer claimed teams “aren’t supposed to win games like that,” referring to the multitude of things that went against Ohio State: the raucous crowd, the injury to quarterback J.T. Barrett and the blown lead to name a few.
It tested the Buckeyes, Meyer said, and it helped shape the rest of Ohio State’s storybook season — one that eventually saw the Buckeyes holding up the national championship trophy inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
“Up to that point, we were good, but I never saw them fight and crawl out from underneath a bad situation. They did, and that was incredible,” Meyer recalled of last year’s game. “When you go back and watch it, that was a violent, tough game and a lot of credit to Penn State and our guys. That was a well-played, tough football game.”
Added Ohio State’s All-American defensive end Joey Bosa: “Probably the longest, hardest-fought game I’ve ever played. Double overtime, just really a war the whole game.”
On Saturday, this time in primetime at Ohio Stadium, Meyer and the Buckeyes will face the Nittany Lions once again. And again, it’s expected to be another ‘war.’
Penn State is currently a 17-point underdog for Saturday’s matchup, but recent history has shown us this game is typically closer than that number. Three of the last four Ohio State-Penn State games have been decided by 12 points or less, with two of those finishing as one-possession games.
The Nittany Lions started off the season with a brutal-looking 27-10 loss to Temple, but have since rattled off five-straight wins.
“I remember watching them their first game this year and it’s nowhere close to where they’re looking now,” Bosa said. “It’s Penn State, so they’re going to get their stuff together and it’s always a big game.”
Ohio State hasn’t really been tested by an opponent of this caliber. Yes, the Buckeyes have played in some closer-than-expected games, but the Nittany Lions have more talent than anyone they have faced to this point.
Should the Buckeyes commit some of the same mistakes they have early in this season — or even repeat the ones they did against the Nittany Lions last season — they could find themselves in another closely-contested game.
Last year, the matchup with Penn State served as a rallying point for Ohio State. And while the Buckeyes certainly hope they don’t have to go through a double-overtime game again, they’d gladly take another season-changer.
“Due to the fact that they’re 5-1, I’m pretty sure that we’re going to get a great team and do everything they can to try and upset at as home,” Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell said. “That’s what you have to expect. … We just have to take the same approach that we’ve been taking every game and try to come out and find a way to get it done.”
