It's almost time for one of Ohio State’s biggest games of the 2021 season.
For the first time since it hosted Oklahoma in 2017, Ohio State will play a home night game against a top-20 team when it hosts Penn State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night. The Buckeyes will be playing in the spotlight of ABC's Saturday Night Football for the second week in a row as they look to beat one of their top competitors in the Big Ten East and improve to 7-1 on the season.
With just 12 hours until the game begins, we share some gameday thoughts, questions and predictions for how Saturday night's battle between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will play out.
Final Thoughts
I'm glad this is a night game
Unlike many fans, I typically prefer when Ohio State plays noon games over night games. For a beat writer, a noon game means being able to actually finish postgame writing at a reasonable hour while a night game means working deep into the early morning hours. That said, this week's game always felt like it belonged in primetime, so I'm glad it will be getting the spotlight it deserves.
From a hype standpoint, a night game just feels bigger than a noon game (Michigan game aside). The environment inside Ohio Stadium should be the best we've seen in multiple years after last season was played without fans in the stands, so that’s going to be fun to witness. It’s good for the out-of-state recruits who have been waiting all season for the opportunity to visit Ohio State that there’s a big game kicking off late enough that they can make it. And the all-scarlet “Color Rush” uniforms will look a lot cooler under the lights than they would have looked in the daytime.
– Dan Hope
This may be one of the biggest recruiting weekends I’ve ever seen
At least 50 recruits are expected to be at the game Saturday. Almost all of the ones we have listed in our expected visitors list have at least some name recognition to them. Now, it’s up to Ohio State’s game day atmosphere, coaching staff and team to perform to give them a lasting impression before they make their decisions.
— Garrick Hodge
Penn State’s loss to Illinois really took some steam off of this one
For a few weeks now, we’ve had this game circled on the calendar as the matchup that would truly show us just how much Ohio State has improved since losing to Oregon. But then again, a few weeks ago Penn State had two fewer losses and was thought to be a top-five team in college football.
The Nittany Lions may very well still be a litmus test for the Buckeyes, but any consensus of a razor-close contest seems to have waned considerably among pundits and oddsmakers. Now a 19-point favorite over its Big Ten East foe, Ohio State is not only expected to win this game, but to win it by a wide margin as well. Losing to Bret Bielema and Illinois has a funny way of shifting one’s perception about a college football team, and that has certainly taken place in regards to Penn State.
– Griffin Strom
This is the least hyped Ohio State vs. Penn State matchup in years
I can't tell you the last time I've been less excited about an Ohio State vs. Penn State matchup. In recent years, the Nittany Lions have consistently played the Buckeyes closer than anyone else in the conference and these games have typically been Ohio State's biggest test of the season. This one just doesn't feel that way.
Between Penn State's ugly loss last week (and the one before that), Sean Clifford's injury status, James Franklin's distractions and Ohio State's sudden emergence as an absolute death machine, this anticipation for this one just feels quite a bit one-sided.
– Kevin Harrish
Questions
Will Stroud continue to shine against a top pass defense?
C.J. Stroud’s last three games leading Ohio State’s offense have been spectacular, and he’s deservedly moved into the forefront of the Heisman Trophy conversation as a result. Penn State’s defense is far more capable of making life difficult on him than Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana, however, making this the biggest test Stroud has faced since his shoulder has been healthy.
If Stroud can have another big game against the Nittany Lions on Saturday night, he could potentially be the Heisman frontrunner by Sunday. More importantly, though, he just needs to play well enough for Ohio State to win. His recent performances are more than enough reason for optimism that he will, but he might face more adversity tonight than he did in the last three games, when Ohio State’s offense was almost never stopped.
– Dan Hope
Just how good is Penn State’s defense?
The Nittany Lions have yet to allow more than 23 points this season, even though they’ve lost twice. While both losses can be attributed to offensive ineptitude, this is the best offense Penn State has seen this season. Can one of the nation’s better statistical defenses rise up and keep them in the game? Or will Stroud continue to make highlight films for his Heisman campaign?
— Garrick Hodge
Will Denzel Burke back up his words?
I won’t make out Denzel Burke’s Wednesday remarks about his matchup with Jahan Dotson to be anything other than a show of confidence, but there’s little doubt that they will be revisited following the outcome of Saturday’s game. The true freshman corner said Dotson, who put up 144 yards and three touchdowns against the Buckeyes last season, is “nothing I can’t handle.”
The Penn State passing offense has struggled mightily as of late, which bodes in Burke’s favor, but we all saw what Dotson was capable of doing against a more seasoned Ohio State defensive back a year ago. Surely Dotson is the best wideout Burke will have matched up with so far this season (outside of Ohio State practice anyway), and if the first-year corner manages to limit his impact on Saturday, it will be his most impressive feat to date.
– Griffin Strom
How will Penn State's offense match up with Ohio State's defense?
Everyone wants to talk about the strength-on-strength matchup of Ohio State's offense against Penn State's defense, but honestly, it feels like it's rarely the strength-on-strength matchups that decide the games, it's the other one.
That said, I want to see how Ohio State's defense looks against Penn State's offense. Both have struggled at times this season and I think whichever one plays better tonight will have the biggest impact on the game.
– Kevin Harrish
Predictions
TreVeyon Henderson runs for more than 150 yards
Since he ran for a freshman-record 277 yards against Tulsa, Henderson hasn’t topped 102 rushing yards in a game since. That's not because he's been ineffective running the ball – he’s rushed for 8.8 yards per carry, the most of any Football Bowl Subdivision player with at least 50 rushing attempts – but because he simply hasn’t gotten that many carries, as he’s only gotten double-digit carries once in the last four games.
That’s likely to change against Penn State. The Nittany Lions looked vulnerable against the run last week, allowing 357 yards on 67 attempts against Illinois, so I expect Ohio State to look to establish the run early and often. Henderson will likely play for four quarters and get the majority of carries for the Buckeyes – at least 20-25 – and I expect him to take advantage with a big night.
– Dan Hope
If Illinois can run on Penn State, so can Ohio State
It was good to see Miyan Williams have some success on the opening series in last week’s 54-7 win against Indiana with TreVeyon Henderson temporarily hurt and Master Teague sidelined. If Illinois can amass 300-plus rushing yards (don’t look at passing, eek) against Penn State, surely the combination of Henderson, Williams and Teague (if he's healthy) can get the job done on the ground.
— Garrick Hodge
The Penn State defense won’t slow Ohio State down much
The Nittany Lion secondary is stacked with talent, to be sure. I’ll also concede that the Penn State defense is the best Ohio State has faced this season. I just can’t see James Franklin and company shutting down – or even significantly limiting – both phases of the nation’s No. 1 total and scoring offense. At least, not enough to win.
Even in the game Ohio State lost this season, it scored 28 points and put up 612 yards of offense. Penn State, on the other hand, has only scored more than 28 points on two occasions, and neither time against a Power 5 opponent.
– Griffin Strom
Ohio State's defense will come to play
All eyes will be on the Ohio State offense, and I expect it to put up big numbers once again, but I think the defense is going to have a lights-out performance, shutting down Penn State on the other side of the ball.
I think this is a different defense than we saw early in the season. I think it has really settled in the past few weeks. The young players have grown more comfortable, the coaching staff has made the necessary adjustments and they're really playing with confidence. I expect them to be dominant.
– Kevin Harrish
