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dominated the second half, setting up a comeback and a 31-19 Nittany Lion victory. Since then, however, the Lions haven't won two consecutive games at any point in this series, even though they've been play- ing Ohio State annually since 1993. In fact, most of the eight games that Penn State has won since the start of the Big Ten era have been bracketed by three, four, even five losses. From 2002 to 2010, the Nittany Lions went 2-7 against Ohio State, and only two of those defeats were by single-digit margins. Then came the sanctions in 2012, and things definitely didn't get any easier. On Saturday, the longtime border rivals will meet again, and the Buckeyes will be looking to keep Penn State from putting together its first winning streak in the se- ries since the Carter administration. PSU dealt them their only regular-season loss of the 2016 campaign, a 24-21 setback at Beaver Stadium in which the Lions rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the sec- ond half. That game has not been forgotten in Columbus. Urban Meyer, who began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant under Bruce, didn't sound eager to throw around words like revenge, but he didn't deny that his players might be feeling es- pecially amped up for this week's game. "You have to figure you're dealing with youngsters," Meyer said during his news conference on Monday. "Is revenge a moti- vator? Yeah, it is. I'm not saying this will be it. There have been times when we've used it and we've looked silly using it. There have been other times that it's worked. I don't know yet. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday aren't about that. They're about the execu- tion of a game plan and focus." The focus should be intense on both sides, because the stakes are high. As far as the Big Ten Championship Game and Col- lege Football Playoff are concerned, Satur- day's matchup could turn out to be an elimination game. If the sixth-ranked Buckeyes were to lose, it would be their second defeat of the sea- son and would deal a severe blow to their hopes of qualifying for the CFP for the third time in four seasons. Last year, for in- stance, the selection committee excluded a two-loss Penn State team, even though it had just won the Big Ten championship in dramatic fashion. As for the second-ranked Nittany Lions, they don't yet have any blemishes on their record, but if they were to leave Columbus with their first loss of the season, their path to the conference championship game, and thus the CFP, would get uncomfortably narrow. Even if they won out, they would need Ohio State to lose two of its last four games, which are against Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois and Michigan. A lot of factors are working against Penn State in this game. The Buckeyes are at home, where they've gone 32-3 in Meyer's six seasons, and they're coming off a bye week, which should ensure that they're as healthy and rested as possible. Considering that their J.T. Barrett-led offense is pro- ducing 577.3 yards and 47.3 points per game, and that their defense is holding op- ponents to 305.3 yards and 15.4 points, it's hard to imagine that the Lions will face a bigger challenge this season. Of course, there are also some factors that work in Penn State's favor, the most notable of which is its running back. Dur- ing his freshman year, Saquon Barkley rushed for 194 yards against Ohio State, one of the bright spots in a 38-10 loss. The Buckeyes did a better job against Barkley in Beaver Stadium last year, holding him to 99 yards, but the Nittany Lions have been in- creasingly successful the past two years at creating opportunities for him in the pass- ing game and on special teams. Meyer O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 NATE BAUER 7-0 | This is it. Penn State has needed to progress through its schedule to this point, but a date at Ohio State in late October has been circled on the schedule since the final whistle of the 2016 season. No doubt, this will be the Lions' stiffest test of the season, but it's a team fully prepared to compete at that level. Though points will be plentiful, Penn State has the more dynamic set of offensive threats and will see that advantage manifest at Ohio Stadium on Saturday aBernoon. | PENN STATE 31, OHIO STATE 28 PHIL GROSZ 7-0 | When you take into consideration the fact that Urban Meyer-coached teams are 21-1 coming off a bye week, it would make a lot of sense for me to pick Ohio State to win this game. Add to that the fact that Penn State's record is 2-10 at Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993, and picking Ohio State to win this game might be the smart thing to do. But I believe that on Oct. 28, 2017, Penn State will enter the Horseshoe and de- feat the Buckeyes in the same manner that fiBh-ranked Penn State defeated sixth-ranked Ohio State 19-0 in 1978. This is a pick 'em game, and the score will be much closer than it was in 1978, but in the end Penn State will show Ohio State why it is ranked No. 2 in the country. | PENN STATE 35, OHIO STATE 31 MATT HERB 7-0 | Penn State's record in Columbus is abysmal, but most years it seemed to go into the Horseshoe without a realistic plan for scoring points. The Nittany Lions would ask for a heroic effort from the defense and hope to catch a few breaks on offense, an approach that helps account for their 2-10 road record vs. Ohio State since joining the Big Ten. This year is different in that the Lions look to have the playmakers they need to compete and are adept at putting those players in positions to succeed. But the Buckeyes are at home, they're coming off a bye week, they've got a cast of talented veterans on both sides of the ball and they know that a victory over the No. 2 team in the country would vault them right back into the College Football Playoff conversation. Penn State is obvi- ously headed in the right direction, but this year, the indicators are pointing to an Ohio State victory. | OHIO STATE 31, PENN STATE 24 TIM OWEN 7-0 | We can talk for days about Urban Meyer's nearly spotless home record, his success coming off of bye weeks and his winning history against basically every team in the country. That's all true. What's also true, however, is that his teams have struggled in their past two games against top-five opponents, getting outscored 62-16. Also, since becoming the Buckeyes' head coach in 2012, Meyer is only one game above .500 against teams ranked in the top 15. Not exactly world-dominating numbers. The lucky number for Clemson and Oklahoma in Ohio State's two most recent losses was 31. I'm going with it here, too. | PENN STATE 31, OHIO STATE 27 RYAN SNYDER 7-0 | For months, I was expecting the Nittany Lions to lose this game. But now, seven games into the season, I'm not so sure. The offensive line showed me a lot last week against Michigan, and Saquon Barkley always performs well vs. the Buckeyes. Why not? | PENN STATE 38, OHIO STATE 35 S T A F F P R E D I C T I O N S

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