Ken
Guest
Penn State @ Ohio State: How I See It
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(The “I” in the title is guest writer, Michael Smith. We’d like to welcome him back to give us his thoughts on Saturday night’s game.)
Ohio State vs. Penn State, The Black-Out
What happens? Who wins? Let’s talk about it.
This Saturday night at the Shoe, Ohio State will be hosting Penn State. It will debut the long awaited and talked about Black Jerseys the player will be wearing. Also, Ohio State is asking the fans to blackout the stadium. It should be a sight to see, but what will happen in the game? Let’s see if we can find out.
Ohio State Defense vs. Penn State Offense
Penn State’s offense has been average this year. They haven’t blown the doors off anyone, but they score enough to win, averaging 25 points a game. They are 5-1 mostly due to their defense, not their offense. The bright spot for Penn State’s offense is still Christian Hackenberg their QB. He’s at the top of most NFL scouts lists of QB prospects. He has all the tools. We’ve seen him enough to know he’s good. The problem is the Penn State offensive line, they aren’t good. It’s just a fact. Penn State gave up 10 sacks to Temple. Yes, Temple.
Since losing to Temple, they have won 5 straight. Granted, their opponents haven’t been that good. Penn State does have a decent running game. They use 2 running backs Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch. They’ve combined for nearly 700 yards so far this season. Penn State’s wide receivers are also decent, their best being Chris Godwin with almost 400 yards on the year. Now, Penn State hasn’t faced a defense as talented as Ohio State’s this season, no where close. Ohio State’s defensive problems the last 2 weeks with running quarterbacks is solved with Penn State. Hackenberg is no runner.
With Penn State’s poor offensive line, I expect Ohio State’s defensive line to get a lot of pressure. Ohio State must, and I mean must, do a better job against the run. Ohio State is 10th in the big 10 vs. the run. That is awful. Another concern has to be the secondary, due to injuries we are getting very thin. That being said, I just can’t see how Penn St will be able to put up a lot of points.
Ohio State Offense vs. Penn State Defense
Penn State has a good defense, a very good one in fact. This defense held Indiana to 7 points last week. That same Indiana team who ran up and down the field vs. Ohio State the week before.
Penn State’s defense only gives up 14 points a game. We all know how Ohio State has struggled on offense so far this year. Now, Ohio State’s offense is way more talented than the offenses Penn State has faced so far. However, Penn State’s front 7 is legit. They are good.
Ohio State will have a problem for a while moving Penn State’s front 7 off the ball. If Penn State has a weakness on defense, it’s their secondary. This is why I hope Ohio State comes out throwing at first. Spreading Penn State out and using 4-5 receivers would help against their talented front 7. Jones got better last week and with using Barrett in the red zone that might have helped Jones just focus on the throws he does best. I expect Ohio State to win the possession time battle. This will eventually wear down Penn State’s defense. Then in the 2nd half Ohio State needs to release the Zeke. If Ohio State doesn’t turn the ball over, something they didn’t do vs. Maryland, it’ll be hard for Penn State to stop them all night.
I don’t care how good your defense is, if it’s on the field a lot and gets tired, the other team is going to start gaining yards, a lot of them. I don’t expect 40+ out of Ohio State this week though. Let’s be realistic here, but close is OK.
Prediction
This game could go 2 ways depending on if Ohio State goes back to the offense we saw vs. Hawaii and N. Illinois. If Ohio State is able to control the time of possession and not turn the ball over, they will win. If they don’t, this game could go down to the wire like last year. I love the black jerseys, the 1st night game this year, the crowd will be fired up. I think Penn State finally gets tired in the 2nd half and Ohio State pulls away.
Ohio State 38 Penn State 17
The post Penn State @ Ohio State: How I See It appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(The “I” in the title is guest writer, Michael Smith. We’d like to welcome him back to give us his thoughts on Saturday night’s game.)
Ohio State vs. Penn State, The Black-Out
What happens? Who wins? Let’s talk about it.
This Saturday night at the Shoe, Ohio State will be hosting Penn State. It will debut the long awaited and talked about Black Jerseys the player will be wearing. Also, Ohio State is asking the fans to blackout the stadium. It should be a sight to see, but what will happen in the game? Let’s see if we can find out.
Ohio State Defense vs. Penn State Offense
Penn State’s offense has been average this year. They haven’t blown the doors off anyone, but they score enough to win, averaging 25 points a game. They are 5-1 mostly due to their defense, not their offense. The bright spot for Penn State’s offense is still Christian Hackenberg their QB. He’s at the top of most NFL scouts lists of QB prospects. He has all the tools. We’ve seen him enough to know he’s good. The problem is the Penn State offensive line, they aren’t good. It’s just a fact. Penn State gave up 10 sacks to Temple. Yes, Temple.
Since losing to Temple, they have won 5 straight. Granted, their opponents haven’t been that good. Penn State does have a decent running game. They use 2 running backs Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch. They’ve combined for nearly 700 yards so far this season. Penn State’s wide receivers are also decent, their best being Chris Godwin with almost 400 yards on the year. Now, Penn State hasn’t faced a defense as talented as Ohio State’s this season, no where close. Ohio State’s defensive problems the last 2 weeks with running quarterbacks is solved with Penn State. Hackenberg is no runner.
With Penn State’s poor offensive line, I expect Ohio State’s defensive line to get a lot of pressure. Ohio State must, and I mean must, do a better job against the run. Ohio State is 10th in the big 10 vs. the run. That is awful. Another concern has to be the secondary, due to injuries we are getting very thin. That being said, I just can’t see how Penn St will be able to put up a lot of points.
Ohio State Offense vs. Penn State Defense
Penn State has a good defense, a very good one in fact. This defense held Indiana to 7 points last week. That same Indiana team who ran up and down the field vs. Ohio State the week before.
Penn State’s defense only gives up 14 points a game. We all know how Ohio State has struggled on offense so far this year. Now, Ohio State’s offense is way more talented than the offenses Penn State has faced so far. However, Penn State’s front 7 is legit. They are good.
Ohio State will have a problem for a while moving Penn State’s front 7 off the ball. If Penn State has a weakness on defense, it’s their secondary. This is why I hope Ohio State comes out throwing at first. Spreading Penn State out and using 4-5 receivers would help against their talented front 7. Jones got better last week and with using Barrett in the red zone that might have helped Jones just focus on the throws he does best. I expect Ohio State to win the possession time battle. This will eventually wear down Penn State’s defense. Then in the 2nd half Ohio State needs to release the Zeke. If Ohio State doesn’t turn the ball over, something they didn’t do vs. Maryland, it’ll be hard for Penn State to stop them all night.
I don’t care how good your defense is, if it’s on the field a lot and gets tired, the other team is going to start gaining yards, a lot of them. I don’t expect 40+ out of Ohio State this week though. Let’s be realistic here, but close is OK.
Prediction
This game could go 2 ways depending on if Ohio State goes back to the offense we saw vs. Hawaii and N. Illinois. If Ohio State is able to control the time of possession and not turn the ball over, they will win. If they don’t, this game could go down to the wire like last year. I love the black jerseys, the 1st night game this year, the crowd will be fired up. I think Penn State finally gets tired in the 2nd half and Ohio State pulls away.
Ohio State 38 Penn State 17
The post Penn State @ Ohio State: How I See It appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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