Football Preview: Penn State at Ohio State | Can Joe Paterno Buck Losing Trend

October 21, 2008 By 5 Comments

joe paterno jim tresselThe Big Ten game of the year will kickoff in Columbus at 8pm EST on Saturday, October 25.  It will be only the 8th night game (6-1) hosted in Ohio Stadium history.  The last night game was the loss to Vince Young’s Longhorns in 2005.

This time around Ohio State officials are hoping the faithful will wear all red for the themed “Scarlett Fever.” God knows the Penn State Nittany Lions have thrown the “White Out” at us enough times.

First place in the Big Ten is on the line as they are the only undefeated teams left. If Ohio State (7-1, 4-0) wins they could position themselves as the Big Ten champion which could mean a rematch against USC in the Rose Bowl. A Penn State (8-0, 4-0) win would put them on the inside track to their first BCS championship appearance.

Not that Joe Pa would even think about retiring after a BCS win since going off in style is, well, not his style.

To set this game up, both Ohio State and Penn State are coming off smack downs of the Michigan teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if ESPN’s College Gameday set up shop in Columbus for this one. Historically speaking, this game has a rich history especially since they play each other every year in the last week of October.

Ohio State leads the all-time series 12-11 and they have a 10-5 advantage since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 199james laurinitis3. Joe Paterno bucked the losing trend against Michigan last weekend but he has another this weekend against Ohio State. Joe Paterno has NEVER won in Ohio Stadium in Big Ten play. Joe Pa won in Columbus in October of 1929 but he insists a historic stock market crash is not the reason for victory then or now.

In all seriousness (despite the photo of James Laurinaitis), I believe the most important match ups are the run defenses and ball control. Last week Penn State had a tough time stopping the Michigan spread run offense giving up 202 yards on the ground, a 4.4 average per carry. Most of that was given up in the first half. Last week Ohio State took on the supposedly best running attack in the Big Ten and held the Fighting Izzo’s to 52 yards rushing, a 2.5 yard average. So whichever defense can keep the other team’s dual running threats off the field longer should win this game because I don’t see a lot of turnovers occurring.

Prediction: Ohio State 27 Penn State 21

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: James Laurinaitis, Jim Tressel, Joe Paterno, Ohio State Football, Penn State Football
  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    I would really like to see Penn State win this game, because I think seeing JoePa make a run at a national title would be awesome — and because everyone is sick of Ohio State anyway — but I don’t think the Nittany Lions go into Columbus and win at night. In Happy Valley, absolutely. But Terrelle Pryor and Beanie Wells and Adonis Tressel will be too much for JoePa and the Lions at home.

    Ohio State 20 Penn State 17

  • Kaner

    Obviously, OSU is good, they showed some things last week I just hadn’t seen…Beanie Wells is a beast., that’s completely clear, now. Laurinitis finds the ball on every play. For me, the biggest question mark was pryor, but with the run threat and Pryor’s capabilities outside the pocket defenses have to play honest which opens up the field….
    However, I do think that PSU’s defense has more in the tank than we know….It’s just a question of controlling the line, which will be tough.
    The niitany lions will have to make big plays on offense and defense to keep this thing close, because if the bucks are as consistently solid as they appeared last week…tressel win find a way to finish the game.

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  • Jazzman

    I think Penn State really needs this win more than Ohio State. JoePa in the BCS championship? That would be epic. I must admit, as a Nittany Lion fan, I am a little worried about this one, but I hardly think last weekend was a decent show of PSU’s strength. Clark kept his cool and threw a good game, and the offense got cheated a few times by the refs.
    The problem was the defense; I have no clue what they were doing most of the game (especially that first half) but if they get their act together, they have a good shot of winning the game. And, after all, they’ve got Lydell Sargeant, who made, like, five picks against Wisconsin two weeks ago!
    My prediction: PSU 27, OSU 24

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