Battle In Happy Valley

In honor of the upcoming, highly anticipated matchup between #4 Ohio State and #9 Penn State, I'm going to skip over the 49-6 victory over Tulane and that recap. Ohio State dominated from the start and took many of their key players out by halftime. It was a open-and-shut case; Ohio State won the game on Monday that week. Not much else to be said. 

Now on to the big one.

As an Ohio State fan, the white out games make me nervous, even though Ohio State has actually had a lot of success playing Penn State in recent memory. Since 2002, Ohio State has a 12-4 record against Penn State, including being 5-2 on the road. 

So why am I so nervous?

It's because I have post traumatic stress disorder thinking about Tamba Hali's devastating sack on Troy Smith and the subsequent fumble on our way to a 17-10 loss in 2005. It's because I remember watching the 2016 game (I admit, I actually was in and out of the TV room at a party), thinking "Oh, yeah, we got this. No problem." Until we didn't. And somehow the game was over in the fastest 5 minutes of gameplay I've ever seen. And finally, watching Saquon Barkley return the opening kick-off in 2017. What else can I say. Followed by the religious experience I had watching J.T Barrett snipe every critique with football darts as he went 16/16 to finish the game in, in my opinion, the best game of the season. And a win.

So there's all of that to let soak in before Saturday.

But still, even with the recent heavyweight knockout punches thrown on each other, Ohio State, for the most part, has dominated the last 15 years.

So, it's still Penn State...right?

Why I think Ohio State Will Win

I think Ohio State wins the game because they're a better team than they were last year and I think Penn State has taken a step back. Not a lot, just a little. The 2017 Ohio State defense did an admirable job containing Saquon Barkey, but Barkley still finished with 171 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns. He's gone. Mike Gesicki, now professional tight end, was the Nittany Lion's leading receiver in the game and finished with 6 receptions for 57 yards. Modest numbers, but his catches seemed extremely clutch and he was Trace McSorley's security blanket all game.

Here's something else. Let me put a couple blind stat lines in front of you.

Quarterback: 33/39, 328 Yards, 4 TD's.

Rushing: 17 Carries, 95 Yards. 13 Carries, 88 Yards.

Receiving: 12 Catches, 102 Yards.

Who does that look like? Does that look like Dwayne Haskins with another extremely efficient day passing, JK Dobbins and Mike Weber being equally productive on the ground and whichever combination of KJ Hill/Parris Campbell you wanted to guess?

Yes. Looks right to me.

Except that was JT Barrett with the 4 touchdowns. Then JT again with the 95 spot with his legs, Dobbins with 88 yards and you got it, KJ Hill with the receiving stats, all during the 2017 39-38 comeback win.

So, what I'm saying is, is that I believe this current Ohio State team can mirror those statistics, if not potentially be a little more productive on the ground since there isn't as much reliance on the quarterback position to be productive in that phase of game.

I see a similar outing statistically, but with (kind of) new ballplayers.

Final Prediction

I think Ohio State's offense will be the difference in the game. Trace McSorley will make plays to keep Penn State in the game and it will be competitive. 

The white out will be obnoxious. And intense. And I hate it already. 

Ohio State will go into halftime winning 24-10, a comfortable lead. I think Coach Franklin and staff will settle their players down and Penn State will make a run in the 3rd quarter to bring the score tight going into the fourth. Good home teams have a run in them. Penn State will make a run. 

The Buckeye offense creates one more scoring drive then their opponent late and close the game out with a 42-39 win on the road. 

Bring on Haskins for Heisman.