Before each Ohio State game, Eleven Warriors catches up with a media member who covers the opposing team to get his or her perspective on the Buckeyes' upcoming opponent.
PENN STATE
NITTANY LIONS
This week, Ohio State hosts Penn State in a crucial Big Ten East matchup in a contest that could be pivotal in deciding if the Buckeyes qualify for the Big Ten Championshig Game or not later this season.
To help break down the matchup between the two undefeated squads, we're joined by Ben Jones of StateCollege.com. We discussed what this contest means to the Nittany Lions and James Franklin, Drew Allar's emergence yet reluctance to throw deep, the Penn State offensive line and more.
This is an opportunity for a statement game for both Penn State and James Franklin. With the last two weeks consisting of an off week and a mini-bye against UMass, how much has PSU scouted ahead to Ohio State and what’s the Nittany Lions’ mindset entering the matchup?
Ben Jones: I don't think there's a program in America that isn't doing prep in the offseason for every game on the schedule and isn't constantly getting up to speed with those teams as the year unfolds. Penn State isn't any different on that front. Obviously having the schedule work out the way it does helps Penn State a bit but in reality, these games are going to come down to how well you execute your stuff and less so spending two weeks working on Super Secret Play 1, 2 and 3.
Penn State and Ohio State are familiar foes and you might have a wrinkle or two here or there but I think Penn State's approach is just to get better at what it does rather than overthink the scouting process. All of this is to say the vibe has been "business as usual" from Franklin and company. The off week was the same as usual — self-scouting and rest — and UMass was UMass. Whatever you think of Penn State/Franklin and that program's general level of success, it has done a good job of staying in the moment and not looking too far ahead.
As far as mindset, I wouldn't say that Penn State is playing down the opportunity but I don't think there is a frontward-facing "this is the biggest game ever" sort of narrative either. This has been Penn State's biggest game for a decade now, everyone sort of understands the deal at this point and going "man I would really like to finally win this game" probably doesn't help either.
Drew Allar has had a magnificent start to his college career with a touchdown to interception ratio of 12-0. Yet, he’s attempted the least amount of passes of 20-plus yards downfield in the Big Ten with 11, despite having terrific arm strength. How much of that has to do with scheme and how much of that has to do with the wide receivers Penn State has? What have you made of Allar’s year so far?
Jones: It's a little bit of both. Penn State has been happy to take what the defense gives it and Allar has never really seemed interested in taking particularly risky shots. As James Franklin said the other day — to paraphrase — coaches are constantly waiting to have a quarterback that will take the checkdown. The other side of the coin here is twofold, Penn State lost Harrison Wallace in Week 2 and only just now is getting him back, Wallace was expected to be the No. 1B receiver next to KeAndre Lambert-Smith and has looked quite good when he has played.
For his part, KLS has been steady but he hasn't hit that gear that makes him the Jahan Dotson type of automatic. I think the return of Wallace is going to make a big difference though and while I don't expect Penn State to suddenly change its identity in the biggest game of the year, I do think Wallace and KLS as a duo give Penn State a lot more options further down the field when they're both healthy. Penn State's most explosive game of the year was the opener against West Virginia and that was the last time KLS and Wallace were both at full-go in a pass-happy atmosphere.
As for Allar, he is steady. Time will tell if he can make all the right reads on Saturday, but unlike Sean Clifford I don't think he's going to shut his eyes and just let one rip. I'm not sure that Allar has been a transcendent talent in terms of how he has been used in this offense, but he can make every throw, feels pressure in the pocket well and isn't going to remove his brain from his skull three times a game. It's not as sexy but you don't need to take chances on 45-yard throws if you're willing to make the safe play to gain eight. That's sort of been the Allar experience so far.
It’s hard to have a better anchor on the left side of your offensive line than Olu Fashanu. But how has the rest of the line held up in your estimation? Also, have they circled this one on their calendar considering the success J.T. Tuimoloau had against them a year ago?
Jones: Losing Landon Tengwall before the season started to a medical retirement was a tough blow but something Penn State saw coming basically the entire summer. JB Nelson returning this week gives them more security on the interior as well. I'm sure somebody somewhere has mentioned that Tuimoloau kicked their heads in last year but this group on the whole is better now than it was last year. I think the lack of explosive plays on the ground has hurt the general vibe you get from this group but overall it's still a very solid offensive line and is — for the first time in a minute — not a weakness if nothing else.
Defensively, Penn State has a massive on-paper advantage in stopping Ohio State’s running game considering PSU is third nationally in run defense, OSU might be down to its fourth-string running back and averaged less than two yards per carry two weeks ago. Do you think the PSU gameplan defensively is to take away the run and make the Buckeyes one-dimensional?
Jones: I think it's a dangerous thing to try and sell out to make a team like Ohio State one-dimensional no matter what the stats say but I'm sure Manny Diaz isn't complaining about the fact Marvin Harrison isn't flanked with an equally potent running game. Penn State's defensive front is really finding itself the past few weeks, which helps when you're playing bad teams, but this group has plenty of mojo right now to work with.
It will be interesting to see how Penn State attacks the run because Kalen King [and even Johnny Dixon] might be one of the few corners in America who can give Marvin Harrison a fight in man coverage. If Penn State is willing to risk putting those two on an island from time to time, it could open up a lot more pressure up front. It's weird to think of Penn State having a legit edge in this series but it appears to be there on paper.
There are very few cornerbacks in college football you can trust to attempt to play man coverage on Marvin Harrison Jr. Kalen King might be one of them. What do you make of the star-studded matchup?
Jones: King is smart and moves well, those are the biggest things to me. He doesn't have the size that Joey Porter Jr did but I think King is in many ways a better corner because of that. This summer King told me that playing corner means covering the other team's best player while running backwards and that has stuck with me ever since.
There's no question that Marvin Harrison is going to win some of these battles, but the two of them going at it will be a fun thing to watch all game. I don't know if the game these days is geared towards King having the edge in this one but like I said before, if there's a guy to leave on an island it's him.
Who are some other players on both sides of the ball for PSU worth paying attention to?
Jones: I feel like Penn State's defense is a pretty well-known bunch but linebacker Abdul Carter is never a bad option to keep an eye on. I think this season hasn't been quite as explosive as some may have expected but he's an All-American talent level guy. Offensively I think Harrison Wallace at receiver is really the X-Factor as he returns to this offense and really opens things up for Penn State down the field.
Another fun guy to watch is Liam Clifford — Sean Clifford's brother — who doesn't get a ton of work but has good chemistry with Allar and is a very sneaky slot receiver type. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he makes a play or two in this one. Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton and known commodities but as big of a part of this game as anyone. Also don't forget backup quarterback Beau Pribula – he's basically Trace McSorley 2.0 with his legs.
Ohio State has won the last six matchups and 10 of the last 11, but it seems like Penn State has its best team in quite a while. In a game where the stakes are massive for both teams, how do you see this playing out and give a score prediction if you have one?
Jones: This Penn State team is weird because its lack of explosiveness opens up the door to this constant question of whether or not this team is good or simply everyone it has played isn't good enough to stop getting repeatedly punched in the face. That being said Penn State is good at what it does and has managed to score 30+ every game while playing this plodding style of football.
For the defensive side, I think this bunch is as good as advertised, there's a weakness at times on the interior but Ohio State isn't — this year — a team that is going to make Penn State pay the same way as others might. I have a hard time picking Penn State to win in Columbus until it does it again, but I do think this team is good enough to win one of the big two it has this year. Ohio State has the best player on the field, Penn State is maybe slightly a more complete team. Whatever the final score is I think this snaps Penn State's run to 30 points. I'll take 27-21 Penn State but that's basically because I picked the score and flipped a coin.
