GAME 7: OHIO STATE v PENN STATE

GAME 7       OHIO STATE v PENN STATE

October 17, 2015                    Ohio Stadium              Columbus, OH

Penn State Nittany Lions

Location: State College, PA

Stadium: Beaver Stadium (106,572)

Coach: James Franklin (2^nd year): 12-7 at PSU/36-22 overall, 4-6 v B1G, 0-1 v OSU

Series: OSU 16, PSU 13

Last Meeting: 10/25/2014: OSU 31, PSU 24 (2OT)

Coach Meyer (4^th year): 44-3 at OSU/148-26 overall, 30-2 v B1G, 4-0 v PSU

2014 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-6)(2-6)                2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (14-1)(9-0)

26        Central Florida            24                                34        Navy (Baltimore)        17

21        Akron                            3                                21        Virginia Tech               35

13        at Rutgers                   10                                66        Kent State                      0

48        Massachusetts               7                               50        Cincinnati                    28

  6        Northwestern              29                                52        at Maryland                24

13        at Michigan                 18                                56        Rutgers                        17

24        Ohio State                   31 (2OT)                      31        at Penn State               24 (2OT)

19        Maryland                    20                                55        Illinois                          14

13        at Indiana                      7                                49        at Michigan State         37

30        Temple                        13                                31        at Minnesota                 24

14        at Illinois                     16                                42        Indiana                         27

10        Michigan State            34                                42        Michigan                      28

31        Boston College            30 (OT)                       59        Wisconsin                      0

            (Pinstripe Bowl)                                                          (B1G Championship)

                                                                                    42        Alabama                         35

                                                                                                (Sugar Bowl)

                                                                                    42        Oregon                           20

                                                                                                (National Championship)

2015 Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1)(2-0)                2015 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)(2-0)

10        Temple                        27                                42        at Virginia Tech          24

27        Buffalo                        14                                38        Hawaii                           0

28        Rutgers                          3                                20        Northern Illinois          13

37        San Diego State           21                                38        Western Michigan      12

20        Army                           14                                34        at Indiana                    27

29        Indiana                          7                                49        Maryland                    28

O17     at Ohio State                                                               Penn State

O24     Maryland                                                                    at Rutgers

O31     Illinois                                                                         

N7        at Northwestern                                                          Minnesota

N14                                                                                          at Illinois

N21      Michigan                                                                     Michigan State

N28      at Michigan State                                                       at Michigan

The Penn State Nittany Lions will bring a five-game winning streak into The ‘Shoe for a B1G East Division showdown with the top-ranked Buckeyes.  Coach James Franklin’s club appears to have recovered nicely from the opening-game loss to Temple.

PENN STATE OFFENSE v OHIO STATE DEFENSE: Penn State has played much better as the season has progressed despite a rash of injuries and struggles on the offensive line, which has led its offense to be ranked 13^th in the B1G Conference, averaging a mere 343.8 yards per game despite the presence of three-year starter Christian Hackenberg at quarterback.  We’ll start with Hackenberg, a junior who has started all 31 career games and is ranked first in school history in career 300-yard passing games (8), second in passing yards (7018), and second in total offense (6822).  This year, Hackenberg has thrown for over 1000 yards and seven scores and when he throws downfield, he will often look for sophomore wideout Chris Godwin, with good hands and good route-running ability.  Godwin leads Penn State with 27 receptions for 390 yards and a touchdown.  Also a dangerous receiver is speedy sophomore DaeSean Hamilton, second on the team with 17 catches for 207 yards and two scores.  In a little over a season and a half, he already has hauled in at least five receptions in 11 games.  Junior Geno Lewis mans the third WR position.  He has only six receptions thus far this season, but hauled in three last week in Penn State’s win over Indiana.  Sophomore Mike Gesicki will be at tight end and has shown ability to haul in the tough catches over the middle, with nine receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown in their win against Army.  The offensive line, which struggled a bit in earlier games, hopes to find some consistency.  Junior Brian Gaia leads the way at a guard position, and he can also switch over to center, which is usually manned by junior Wendy Laurent.  Sophomore Brendan Mahon  has the other guard spot, while tackle is taken care of junior Paris Palmer and sophomore Andrew Nelson.

                                            QB Christian Hackenberg

PENN STATE DEFENSE v OHIO STATE OFFENSE: The strength of the Nittany Lions lies on this side of the ball and they will contend with an Ohio State offense that has been inconsistent, but may have found a groove with the “red zone quarterback” system now employed.  Penn State has always been known for great linebackers, but it all starts up front, led by DE Carl Nassib, who leads the nation in sacks with 10.  DT Anthony Zettel and Austin Johnson are back and have caused Ohio State headaches before.  Zettel comes in with 23 tackles and six tackles for loss, while Johnson is second on the team in tackles with 36 while also garnering 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.  Sophomore Garrett Sickles mans the other DE spot, with 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, and two sacks.  There is little doubt this will be the best defensive line faced by the Ohio State offensive line, at least during the regular season.  Leading tackler Jason Cabinda is at MLB with 46 tackles, while his cohorts are junior Brandon Bell and freshman Tony Reeder.  Reeder has been a pleasant surprise for the Lions’ defensive coaching staff.  Showing a good mix of size and speed, he is fourth on the team in tackles with 30, while also making 4.5 tackles for loss.  Bell has 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.  The secondary is led by senior CB Trevor Williams and senior SS Jordan Lucas.  Lucas comes into the game third on the team in tackles with 33 and has also disrupted plays in the opposing backfield, picking up with 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack.  Williams has 17 tackles and has shown the ability to cover speedy wide outs and play run support, with two tackles for loss.  Sophomore Grant Haley should take the field at the other CB spot, while his classmate, Marcus Allen, will put in at FS.

                                            DT Anthony Zettel

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman Joey Julius has thus far been consistent, making 8 of 9 field goals with a long of 40, while sophomore Daniel Pasquariello has shown a big leg punting the ball, averaging 40.5 yards per punt with a long of 55.

SUMMARY: Penn State has recovered nicely from looking absolutely putrid in their loss to Temple and they have done it mostly with their defense, ranking 10^th nationally in total defense, 11^th in scoring defense, and 1th in passing defense.  They also lead the nation in sacks with 25, while also managing a plus-eight turnover margin.  The Buckeyes, however, have shown quite a few times they can turn the ball over and still win, while Penn State does not have that luxury. Ohio State’s offense will have to build on what they found last week with their “red zone system” and get better play out of the offensive line than they have recently.  One of the major factors that will really hurt Penn State in this game will be their offensive performance on third down, which ranks last in the conference.  They will have to improve on this significantly to have a serious chance.  If they don’t, they’re probably in for a long night.

                                            OHIO STATE 24, PENN STATE 10