The Eleven Warriors Web Report comes to you weekly from the Spectrum Sports studios in downtown Columbus, featuring our own Beau Bishop, Dan Hope and former Buckeye wide receiver Evan Spencer.
"This is what we've been waiting for," as Bishop said to open this week's show, as our panel spent the entirety of this week's Web Report previewing this weekend's much-anticipated game between No. 2 Penn State and No. 6 Ohio State in Ohio Stadium.
"All that is at stake is everything," Bishop said of Saturday's game. "For Ohio State, if you lose here, you're out of the national championship picture. You want to talk Heisman implications? The frontrunner plays for your opponent, the third pick in the betting chance is your quarterback. That is the setup. If you want high stakes, we have them."
Spencer, who knows a thing or two about preparing for big games, said Tuesday – "Bloody Tuesday," as the Buckeyes call it – could be the most important day of the week in preparing for Saturday's contest.
Hope, Spencer and Bishop proceeded to discuss Penn State's impressive win over Michigan before diving into the matchups between Ohio State's offense against Penn State's defense and between the Nittany Lions' offense and the Buckeyes' defense.
As Bishop acknowledged, though, special teams and the turnover battle could prove just as important in deciding the outcome of Saturday's game.
"It's something that people don't want to acknowledge much, because it's not as interesting I think as offense, defense and all the star power, but typically, when you play games where talent is of equal, it's special teams and turnovers that's how these things get flipped," Bishop said.
The guys closed the show by giving their predictions for how Saturday's game will play out, with Bishop being among those who expect the Buckeyes to pull off the win.
"They have been the better football team," Bishop said of Penn State. "The reason I keep coming back to Ohio State is, I was around Urban a little bit when he was at Florida, he just doesn't lose these games back-to-back to the same opponent."
The Eleven Warriors Report airs Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Spectrum Sports Mid-Ohio.
