Game 7: Ohio State v Penn State

Game 7                 OHIO STATE v PENN STATE

                             October 25, 2014        Beaver Stadium          State College, PA               Penn State Nittany Lions

Location: State College, PA

Stadium: Beaver Stadium (106,572)

Coach: James Franklin (1^st year): 4-2 at PSU/28-17 overall, 1-3 v B1G, 0-0 v OSU

Series: OSU 16, PSU 13 (vacated games: OSU 15, PSU 8)

Last Meeting: 10/26/2013: OSU 63, PSU 14

Last PSU win: 11/19/2011: PSU 20, OSU 14 (vacated games: 10/11/1997: PSU 31, OSU 27)

Coach Meyer: 29-3 at OSU, 133-26 overall, 21-2 v B1G, 2-0 v PSU

2013 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2)(8-1)          2013 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-5)(4-4)

40        Buffalo                          0                    23        Syracuse                      17

42        San Diego State             7                    45        Eastern Michigan          7

52        at California                 34                    31        Central Florida             34

76        Florida A&M                 0                    34        Kent State                      0

31        Wisconsin                     24                    24        at Indiana                      44

40        at Northwestern           30                    43        Michigan                        40 (4OT)

34        Iowa                             24                    14        at Ohio State                  63

63        Penn State                    14                    24        Illinois                           17 (OT)

56        at Purdue                        0                    10        at Minnesota                  24

60        at Illinois                      35                    45        Purdue                           21

42        Indiana                         14                    20        Nebraska                        23 (OT)

42        at Michigan                  41                    31        at Wisconsin                   24

24        Michigan State             34                   

            (B1G Championship)

35        Clemson                       40

            (Orange Bowl)          

2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1)(2-0)                        2014 Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2)(1-2)

34        at Navy (Baltimore)    17                    26        at Central Florida (Dublin)      24

21        Virginia Tech               35                    21        Akron                                         3

66        Kent State                      0                    13        at Rutgers                                 10

S20                                                                  48        Massachusetts                            7

50        Cincinnati                    28                      6        Northwestern                           29

52        at Maryland                 24

O11                                                                 13        at Michigan                               18

56        Rutgers                        17

O25     at Penn State                                                   Ohio State

N1        Illinois                                                              Maryland

N8        at Michigan State                                           at Indiana

N15      at Minnesota                                                   Temple

N22      Indiana                                                            at Illinois

N29      Michigan                                                         Michigan State

      

OHIO STATE OFFENSE v PENN STATE DEFENSE: The Penn State defense is hardly paper mache and will be the best defense the high-flying Buckeye offense has gone against since Virginia Tech.  The Lions lead the nation in rushing defense and are in the top ten in scoring and total defense.  Up front, senior Deon Barnes has been a mainstay on the line since 2012 and leads the team with three sacks for minus 28 yards and is second on the team with five tackles for loss for minus 33 yards.  Hard to block, Barnes is a big reason why the PSU defense has been stout against the run.  Barnes is certainly not alone with his stellar play on that line, as his fellow bookend C.J. Olaniyan, who has started the last 18 games at his position and is third on the team with 4.5 tackles for loss (-18 yards) and has also forced a fumble.  The middle of the line is plugged up by experienced Anthony Zettel and Austin Johnson at the DT spots.  Johnson has shown he can make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks and running backs with 2.5 tackles for loss (-12 yards), a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups, while Zettel has been selected first-team Mid-season All-Big Ten (ESPN.com).  He moved from DE to DT at the start of the season and has already racked up seven tackles for loss for minus 26 yards and three sacks for -18.  Perhaps the most mobile of the defensive linemen, Zettel also has an interception, a fumble recovery, and two pass break-ups.  Any way you cut it, these guys will be quite a step up in competition and be a handful for any offensive line.  For the team leader, Penn State needs to look no further than Mike Hull at MLB.  A legitimate candidate for the Butkus Award, Hull has racked up double-digit tackles in four out of the six games, is second in the conference and 17^th nationally in tackles.  He led the defensive effort that held Massachusetts to a scant three yards rushing, the lowest allowed by a Penn State defense since Notre Dame had zero yards rushing in 2007.  Hull is joined by Nyeem Wartman and Brandon Bell at the outside positions.  Bell has been a steady presence in his position, recording 14 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and an interception, while Wartman is second on the team with 26 tackles.  After missing the Northwestern game, Wartman returned with a flourish against Michigan to tally six tackles.  Ryan Keiser provides leadership and experience for the Lions at free safety.  He is third on the team with 25 tackles with one interception and two pass break-ups and also serves as the holder on field goals and extra points.  SS Adrian Amos is their most experienced player in the Lions secondary and provides an excellent blend of pass defense and run support and leads the team with two interceptions, while corners Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams provide good pass coverage as well.  Ohio State’s offensive line play needs to keep improving and avoid the false-start penalties that seemed to crop up from time to time over their four-game winning streak.  In addition, the Buckeyes need to utilize their speed to the perimeter, where they have the advantage with Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall.  Then, they should be able to spread out the defense and have some success running the ball and protecting J.T. Barrett.

                                                             Mike Hull

OHIO STATE DEFENSE v PENN STATE OFFENSE: As stellar as Penn State’s defense has looked, unfortunately, the Penn State offense has, at times, looked the opposite and seemed to hit rock bottom in the second half of their loss at Michigan.  After putting up decent performances in their non conference games, the Lions have struggled against, at best, middle-of-the-road defenses, putting up only 13 points in their win at Rutgers, only 13 against Michigan, and a paltry six points against Northwestern.  Lack of depth on the offensive line figured to be a great concern before the season, due to the sanctions, and that looks to indeed be the case.  The cupboard is not entirely bare up front, as the Lions feature experienced tackle Donovan Smith, while the line at least has a solid anchor in center Angelo Mangiro.  Smith was named to the Outland Trophy pre-season watch list as they were able to put up 511 yards of total offense against Central Florida, 464 against Massachusetts, and 425 against Akron.  Mangiro was instrumental in providing pass protection to Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg when Penn State rallied from a 10-point deficit to win at Rutgers.  Hackenberg has become one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.  He leads the conference in passing average per game, with 272.8 yards and completions with 134.  Hackenberg is also third in total offense (272.8).  Among the preseason candidates for the Maxwell and O’Brien awards, Hackenberg’s 4592 passing yards rank ninth all-time at Penn State after just 18 games.  He is also the second-youngest player in Penn State’s illustrious history to be selected a team co-captain.  His favorite target is talented freshman WR Daesean Hamilton who has already hauled in 43 receptions, breaking the Penn State freshman record and leading the conference in that category and already has three 100+ receiving yard games this year.  He is capable of giving any defensive back nightmares in pass coverage.  Hamilton is not alone in that receiving corps as Eugene Lewis has shown he is a top receiver in the conference with 32 catches for 512 yards and a touchdown.  Lewis has combined with Hamilton to become a serious threat to any defense as they have given Penn State multiple games with two receivers over 100 yards in a game for the first time since 1994.  But, if Ohio State overloads on Hamilton and Lewis, Penn State also has experienced tight ends Jesse James and Kyle Carter to throw into the mix, as both have shown to be very capable contributors in their passing attack.  With all the attention being paid to Hackenberg and his gaudy passing statistics, it’s easy to overlook the fact that Penn State does have some good running backs in Bill Belton, Zack Zwinak, and Akeel Lynch.  Belton leads the team with 258 rushing yards on 63 attempts, while Zwinak and Lynch also provide good running ability.  But, the lack of a consistent running game is testamount to the lack of depth on the offensive line as Penn State thus far has been averaging a paltry 93.2 yards per game on the ground.  They will have to do better than that against an Ohio State defense that has already shown its toughness against the run, or it could be a long day for the Penn State offense.  The offensive line had break downs in the second half of their loss at Michigan, and against a better defense, those breakdowns will cause Hackenberg to be sacked quite a bit and to make mistakes.

                                                   Christian Hackenberg

 

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sam Ficken has come a long way as PSU’s field goal specialist since 2012, when he was booed off the field following a loss.  He is 12 out of 14 this year with a long of 42.  Handling the punting chores for the Lions is Chris Gulla, averaging 37.3 yards per punt with a long of 53.

SUMMARY: There is no doubt the major test will be how the Ohio State offensive line holds up against the best front four they will face this season.  But, it’s also Ohio State’s offense, particularly the ground game that is offering a stiff test for the PSU defensive front.  In their six games, the best rushing attack Penn State has faced is Michigan, who ranks a putrid 65^th.  Rutgers (72^nd) is their only other opponent with a running attack ranked better than 100.  Ohio State’s rushing attack currently ranks 17^th, and while it’s true the Buckeyes haven’t exactly faced a murderers row of defenses, as the game wears on, Penn State will find it a real struggle to keep up on both sides of the ball.

                                   

                                           OHIO STATE 34, PENN STATE 17