Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   O H I O   S T A T E | B Y T I M O W E N & M A T T H E R B W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 152.2 YPG, 4.1 YPC // OHIO STATE RUN DEFENSE119.3 YPG, 3.2 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State RB Saquon Barkley and QB Trace McSorley have been gradually finding a groove with their read-option attack, and against Maryland the Nittany Lions totaled 372 yards on the ground, which is more than twice as much as they accumulated in any of the first five games. But it's not going to be easy sailing against an Ohio State defense that ranks among the top three in the conference. The Buckeyes practiced against a similar style of spread offense this off-season, so Penn State's new look won't be completely foreign to them. Defensive ends Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes and Nick Bosa have combined for 16 tackles for loss, so they're disruptive behind the line of scrimmage, while backup DT Robert Landers leads the team with seven. As it always does, Ohio State has a deep ro- tating cast of defensive linemen, and that has opened up space for LB Raekwon McMillan to continue his dominance from a year ago. He is second on the team with 36 tackles. First on the team is breakout sophomore LB Jerome Baker, who has 39. He's also made five tackles for loss and roams sideline-to-sideline. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State fresh- man guards Ryan Bates and Connor McGovern will have their hands full in this one, but they also have an oppor- tunity to shine against the conference's elite. It will be especially important to get to the second level and disrupt the pursuit of McMillan, an All-Big Ten selection. // EDGE Ohio State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 239.3 YPG, 13.9 YPC // OHIO STATE PASS DEFENSE 159.5.3 YPG, 11.1 YPC THE LOWDOWN Michigan is the only defense in the conference that is having more success against the pass than Ohio State, but no defense has created more interceptions than the Buckeyes. They've picked off 11 passes through six games, including four by sophomore safety Malik Hooker, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Balanc- ing it out, however, there is no quarterback in the Big Ten right now who has thrown the ball as many times as Mc- Sorley (177 attempts) with as few interceptions (3), so he's shown that he's able to take control of the ball through the air, having not tossed an INT in the past two Penn State wins. TE Mike Gesicki and WR Chris Godwin are his leading receivers with 23 catches apiece, although Godwin was held without a catch against Maryland. WR DeAn- dre Thompkins is emerging as a deep threat, as he leads the East Division with 18.2 yards per catch. Penn State, meanwhile, has allowed 2.3 sacks per game. An improvement, yes, but with Ohio State averaging 2.5, led by DE Lewis's four, McSorley can expect to face plenty of pressure. // KEY MATCHUP With Andrew Nelson out, this is an important game for LT Paris Palmer and RT Brendan Mahon against a cast of disruptive DEs that includes Sam Hubbard, Holmes, Bosa and Lewis, all of whom have at least two sacks on the season. Gesicki vs. Hooker is another important one, as PSU likes to get its tight end at least five touches per game. // EDGE Even PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. OHIO STATE PASS DEFENSE OHIO STATE RUNNING GAME 300.5 YPG, 6.0 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE208.8 YPG, 4.8 YPC THE LOWDOWN Freshman RB Mike Weber is a powerful runner who fits the familiar Ohio State mold, while junior Curtis Samuel is a slasher, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. They're a handful to deal with, and that's not to mention QB J.T. Barrett, who adds 72 yards per game. They're led by an offensive line that has a member from each class representing it, with junior Jamarco Jones at leA tackle, freshman Michael Jordan at leA guard, senior Pat Elflein at center, junior Billy Price at right guard and sophomore Isaiah Prince at right tackle. They pave the way for the best rushing offense in the Big Ten, and it's not even close. Ohio State is outrushing second-place Michigan by more than 45 yards per game. Penn State, in spite of a greatly improved effort against Maryland, has taken a major step back with its rush defense as it continues to find its best four across the defensive line. On this week's depth chart, junior DT Curtis Cothran is listed as the starter at the three-technique spot above freshman Kevin Givens. If Penn State can get just one of its linebackers to return from injury for this game, it will give this unit a boost, even if only slightly. // KEY MATCHUP Cothran and DT Parker Cothren will have their hands full against an interior of- fensive line that averages more than 307 pounds per man. // EDGE Ohio State OHIO STATE RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE OHIO STATE PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N O H I O S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. OHIO STATE RUN DEFENSE O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 OHIO STATE PASSING GAME 216.0 YPG, 12.2 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE172.7 YPG, 9.9 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State senior defensive ends Garrett Sickels and Evan Schwan both enjoyed career days against Maryland, which had a run-first quarterback similar to Barrett. They'll need to continue that type of controlled edge pressure against the Buckeyes. That isn't an unreasonable assignment, and it's one reason why PSU gets the edge here. OSU is middle-of-the-pack in the Big Ten with its passing offense, as it doesn't have the depth at WR that it had in the past. RB Samuel leads the offense with 29 receptions. Wideouts Dontre Wilson and Noah Brown are next

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