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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> 2017 RECORD 12-2, 8-1 Big Ten COACH Urban Meyer (73-8 in seven seasons at Ohio State; career record: 177-31) SERIES RECORD The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 18-14. MOST RECENT MEETING J.T. Barrett =nished with 423 yards of total o?ense as the Buckeyes dealt visiting Penn State one of the most agonizing losses of the James Franklin era, scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter to prevail, 39-38, on Oct. 28, 2017. EXPECTED STRENGTHS You might think that the loss of a four-year starting quarterback, one whose name is all over your record book, would raise some con- cerns. Not so. The consensus in Colum- bus seems to be that the o?ense won't miss a beat with redshirt sophomore Dwayne Haskins taking over for the graduated J.T. Barrett. And really, it makes sense. If Barrett had a weakness, it was his erratic down=eld passing. That shouldn't be a problem with Hask- ins at QB. He appears to have great touch, as evidenced by his 6-for-7, 94- yard passing performance against Michigan last year aAer Barrett leA the game with an injury. Haskins isn't as elusive a runner as Barrett was, but with J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber in the back=eld, he won't need to be. Those two combined for more than 2,000 rushing yards last year. The receiver corps is solid, too, with K.J. Hill leading the way. And the Buckeyes have a very interesting player in Tate Martell, who became the backup quarterback aAer Joe Burrow transferred to LSU. Martell, a redshirt freshman, may not have Hask- ins' arm, but he's got quick feet and could play a big role this fall if Ohio State incorporates more RPO concepts into its o?ense. AAer leading the Big Ten in scoring and total o?ense last season, the Buckeyes are poised to do so again. POTENTIAL CONCERNS The o?ensive line must replace two quality starters in center Billy Price and tackle Jamarco Jones. Considering that the team's past two centers – Price and Pat El>ein – both won the Rimington Trophy, we're going to go out on a limb and predict that Ohio State will be OK here. But there might be some early-season hic- cups with a new starter settling in. Like Penn State, the Buckeyes might also =nd themselves relying heavily on a true freshman at tight end, in their case Je- remy Ruckert, the third-rated prospect at his position last year according to Ri- vals.com. But the big questions are on defense. The linebacker corps will be young, and the defensive front was thinned out by the loss of three D-ends to the NFL DraA. Tackle Jashon Cornell has moved outside to shore up the DE corps. But there's no shortage of talent here, especially with =rst-team All- American Nick Bosa back for what will likely be his =nal season in Columbus. SCHEDULE Ohio State usually lines up an interesting nonconference game, and this year is no exception, as the Buck- eyes will face TCU in Arlington, Texas, in week three. The other nonconference matchups – vs. Oregon State and Tu- lane, both in Columbus – look like com- fortable wins, as does the Big Ten opener vs. Rutgers in week two. The league slate will take them to Penn State and Michi- gan State, two of the handful of oppo- nents that have given them problems in recent years. Games vs. Nebraska and Michigan will be at the Horseshoe, and the Buckeyes will be coming o? a bye week heading into the Cornhuskers' visit. One other noteworthy aspect of this slate is that they won't get a shot at avenging their season-wrecking 55-24 loss at Iowa last November. The Buck- eyes won't face the Hawkeyes again until 2020. GAME OF THE YEAR The Michigan game is Ohio State's game of the year and will be until the end of time. But while The Game is always big, some are bigger than others. This one could be one of those really big games, because both teams are primed to contend for the conference championship. Meyer is 6-0 vs. Michigan and 3-0 vs. Jim Har- baugh. Another victory over the Wolverines could send him to his sec- ond consecutive Big Ten Championship Game, and it would de=nitely ratchet up the pressure on his maize-and-blue counterpart. Harbaugh's mandate at Michigan has been to win back those all-important bragging rights, and he hasn't done it yet. OUTLOOK What does it say about the current state of Buckeye football that the program's supporters can feel so blithely unconcerned about losing the Big Ten's all-time total o?ense leader to gradua- tion? Nothing good for the rest of the conference, that's for sure. As he gets set for his seventh season in Columbus, Meyer has gotten his program to the point where graduation losses don't re- ally a?ect the expectation level. The 73 victories that Ohio State has amassed since he arrived in 2012 are the second- most in the Football Bowl Subdivision over that span, trailing only Alabama's 76. So they've gotten pretty good at re- placing top players. The Buckeyes have never lost more than two regular-season games in any season during Meyer's tenure. If they don't enter the home- stretch with at least a shot at this year's East Division title, it would be a major surprise. –M.H. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES TOP RETURNEES PASSING Dwayne Haskins 40 of 57 | 565 yds. | 4 TD | 1 int. RUSHING J.K. Dobbins 194 att. | 1,403 yds. | 7 TD RECEIVING K.J. Hill 56 rec. | 549 yds. | 3 TD TACKLING Jordan Fuller 57 solo | 13 asst. | 70 total INTERCEPTIONS Jordan Fuller 3 int. | 51 yds. W E E K 5 | S E P T E M B E R 2 9 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M

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